Can the Bengals handle the Bears D???????

[schweinhart]

Deltha could get the rookie Bradley from Oklahoma.

Bradley is the one who spooks me. Seeing him in preseason was pretty impressive. He gets separation extremely quick, cuts and stops on a dime, and turns upfield after a catch like he's shot outta a canon.

I don't think they're starting Bradley and stats got him only catching 1 ball last week, but in the nickel Keiwan on Bradley would be a mismatch in the Bears favor IMO. And could lead to points.

Overall, all signs point to Bengals beating the living hell outta the Bears, but I can't quite bring myslef there from here yet.

The Bengals got to stop Thomas Jones and maybe Benson also. But w/ Odell running around like a chainsaw massacarer, I'm thinking the buck stops there. Maybe some stunting w/ the DTs on early downs to gum things up a little in the middle.

Defense wise, the Bears are gonna blitz DBs, especially Mike Brown IMO, plus LBs until Brat or Palmer gives them a reason to stop. The blitz pressure should be a good tune-up for the kinda pressure that's just around the bend from Pitt and Ratbirds. Blitz pickup by the backs will be key to get vertical. I like Nathan Vasher but he won't be able to come anywhere close to covering either Housh or Chad and safety help don't look like a problem if CP can get the time to throw.

Rudi should still be able to get his 100 yds on 25 carries, but the pass sets up the run game for this one more than usual for Bengals. Throw on early downs to start then plug in the Rudi. I don't see Perry doing much this week. JJ should do much more.

Right now, I doubt Brat and Brez adjust in time early in the game and the players come out w/ a little of the MNF letdown like they had last year vs. Titans.

But they all recover and set things straight before a Marriucci gets pulled

Bengals 27 Bears 20

[jrandom42]

Deltha could get the rookie Bradley from Oklahoma.

Bradley is the one who spooks me. Seeing him in preseason was pretty impressive. He gets separation extremely quick, cuts and stops on a dime, and turns upfield after a catch like he's shot outta a canon.

I don't think they're starting Bradley and stats got him only catching 1 ball last week, but in the nickel Keiwan on Bradley would be a mismatch in the Bears favor IMO. And could lead to points.

You think that Keiwan would be abused THAT much? Apparently you have little faith in his skills, as opposed to his physical talent. Ratliff is not, and has never been a "speed" guy. What made him SEC Defensive Player of the Year was his totally mad anticipation, which let him see where the play was going before a receiver took more than a couple of strides. He is quick enough to get to where the ball is thrown, and that's what matters most.

Remember Michael Clayton from LSU? Of course you do. He was the Buc's first round pick last year and deservedly so. He's big, strong, fast, runs good routes and has great hands. What happend when LSU and Florida met in 2003? Isolated one one one with Clayton, Ratliff had 2 interceptions and 5 passes defensed. Clayton? He had 4 catches for 60 yds and no touchdown.

I have no worries about Ratliff against any receiver, no matter what his physical talents are.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Can the Bengals handle the Bears D???????

I think what they're worried about right now in Chi-town is wheather the Bears "D" handle the Bengals "O"! They are well aware that the next team they play doesn't have some hack named "Joey" chucking the ball downfield.

It's going to be different. A whole lot different!

[redsfan2]

Chicago absolutely dominated probably the ... 2nd or 3rd worst team in the NFC .. if not the entire league. The week before, they looked a little above average against a very average Redskin offense.

They lost that game 9 to 7 and according to their own team site stopped the Redskins short of the goal line, but couldn't keep them from scoring the field goals when they needed to. The Chicago defense also couldn't contain the Redskin running game The offense ( again according to their own site ) self imploded when the defense did give them opportunities.

Now that game was on the road, and we do have to play them in their house. No disrespect intended towards either team, but our running game ... and offense in general is better than the 'Skins. The Bears defense ( at home ) this year imho most likely isn't as good as the Ravens defense ( at home ) was last year ..... and our offense is better this year than it was last year.

I think Chicago is in for a long day. If the Bears fans would like a list of references, we can provide a growing list of them.

[backerman]

Chicago absolutely dominated probably the ... 2nd or 3rd worst team in the NFC .. if not the entire league. The week before, they looked a little above average against a very average Redskin offense.

They lost that game 9 to 7 and according to their own team site stopped the Redskins short of the goal line, but couldn't keep them from scoring the field goals when they needed to. The Chicago defense also couldn't contain the Redskin running game The offense ( again according to their own site ) self imploded when the defense did give them opportunities.

Now that game was on the road, and we do have to play them in their house. No disrespect intended towards either team, but our running game ... and offense in general is better than the 'Skins. The Bears defense ( at home ) this year imho most likely isn't as good as the Ravens defense ( at home ) was last year ..... and our offense is better this year than it was last year.

I think Chicago is in for a long day. If the Bears fans would like a list of references, we can provide a growing list of them.

Some points to your reply.

I do agree that the Bears haven't seen an offense as efficient and talented as the Bengals. Thats one of the Reasons I see the Bengals winning. I think if the Bears had an average offense they could beat Cincy however. The Bears Offense continually puts the Bears defense in bad posistions. Most of the time the Bears D was good enough to hold. Against Cincy I don't see them Holding as well as they normally do. Still, with an average offense I think it would be a different story.

And Actually the bears were in a good position to win the game in week one. They were down 9-7 and in side field goal range vs the skins. Instead of just playing for the field goal and winning 10-7 the coacing staff decided to call a pass play and Orton threw a pick.

As for not containing the running game.... Yes Portis did get 121 yds but about 50 of that came on one run. They still gave up the yards so make of that what you will.

I think the Bears defense is better than Baltimores defense was last year. Its just that thier offense was so putrid it made the defense look "decent" instead of awesome.

Also, I think Thomas Jones is a better back than Rudi Johnson on an average Sunday. He runs with suprising power, is much more shifty, and substantially faster. Plus he's a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield. He's not a pile mover by any means but he will break some arm tackles. His real problem is injuries. He can never hold up over the course of 16 games and Ron Turner (the bears OC) wanted a bruising durable back for his ball control "O" and hence the Bears drafted Benson.

As for Harringtons play, I think it was much better than Culpeppers. his first 3 interceptions were not even his fault.

Pick 1) chicago pressure- Harrington was hit as he released causing the throw to be behind the reciever. the Chicago defender picked it off.

Pick 2) the Ball was batted by a defensive linemen and picked off by another lineman

Pcik 3) Roy Williams didn't finish his route and just stopped running. Harrington threw the ball to where Roy should be and instead a Chicago defender was waiting on it. (Roy didn"t finish the route because he knew he was covered)

Meanwhile Culpepper was just plain making BAD decesions. Throwing the Ball into a crowd of Bengals in the End Zone or over Throwing his screen target.

Again, I'm picking the Bengals to win this week and to play in the AFC championship game.

I know the Bengals "D" will win the Battle vs the Bears "O".

I just want to see the matchup on a down to down basis of Bears "D" vs Bengals "O" Just keep in mind after seeing the final score how much of that was due to the Bengals Offense winning the BAttle or the Bears offense losing the battle.

[scott91575]

I watched that Bears/Lions game and saw the Redskins/Bears game. Overall the Lions went right into the teeth of the Bears. They sat back and tried to run with 3 wide. Then they tried to throw with 3 wide. They never deviated, and don't forget Joey was at QB. The WR's ran terrible routs, and even ran wrong routs. The O-line blew, and the Bears tore them apart. They are a blitz package team, and the Lions played them all wrong.

Two things to do against the Bears D. Run it heads up with a ton in the box like the Redskins which got 150 yards rushing. Or send 4 wide and dare them to blitz. Find the open man and throw all day. Those are the two ways to beat a team that lives by the blitz. I personally say run Rudi all day and punch them in the mouth. The Bengals can do this, and the Bears D is not that big.

As for the Bears offense, put 7 in the box and blitz safeties and corners (multiple at times). The Lions never did this. They sat in a 4-3 and only blitzed one LB. Never a DB. This gave Orton time, and he was able to be efficient. The Lions D was very vanilla, and they paid. Mix it up and Orton will get confused.

I'm not saying the Bears are a pushover, but they have weaknesses that Detroit didn't exploit. The Redskins did to the best of their ability and won. The Bengals D may not be as good as the Redskins, but I think they can do as good a job. Yet the Bengals have much more on offense than the skins. I like the Bengals chances, but I don't think any road game in the NFL is a gimme.

[CBin2k7]

I did watch a little of the Bears/Lions game and Joe Buck made a point about the Lions receivers running terrible routes and not getting open. They said it had a little to do with the grass on the field, it looked a little long and thick, don't know what difference that makes, but it does seem interesting in an attempt to slow teams not used to playing on that type of surface.

[derekshank]

I don't know why we are assuming that the Vikings defense sucks. They have a great d-line, which held Rudi in check for a good portion of the game, and they also have one of the top 5 secondaries in the league.

It was their defense that kept them in the game against TB last week... and they were in the game until Carnell blew that 70 yard TD run with 1:23 to go in the game. The Vikings were only down by 4 at that point.

They managed to be in that game despite the 5 turnovers by Culpepper, so all in all, I'd say that their defense is pretty damn good. The Bengals really had it clicking from the beginning though on Sunday, and took it to them. I think the first quarter of that game had a lot more to do with our Offense than their defense. After that, we simply wore them down keeping the D unit on the field WAY too long, limiting their offense to fewer than 10 minutes TOP.

Now to the Bears... when they played a decent defense in Washington, they looked like the worst offense in history... and if anyone is watching Monday night football, it seems obvious that holding Washington to 9 points doesn't seem like it will be that much of a rare accomplishment.

They looked really good against Detroit, but lets not forget that the week before Detroit only scored 17 points on the Packers... the same defense the Browns abused all day long yesterday.

While beating the Lions that badly is an accomplishment, let's not act like they are a playoff team here. Orton still only threw for 150 yards, and their special teams and defense both accounted for a TD each. Harrington threw 5 INT's... something Palmer simply will not do. When you look at the stats of futility on the Lions side, it was a recipe for a blow-out.

We will continue to score early, and the Bears will eventually be forced to abandon the run... because, let's face it... with our offense, they will not be able to afford running the ball 37 times like they did against Detroit.

All in all, this may be the best defense we have faced... but I wouldn't say they are head and shoulders better than the Vikings. They will have the same problem the Vikings had, and that is with ball control (minus the turnovers). Orton will not throw 5 INT's... but he will be forced to throw the ball more than 21 times... and as a rookie, will make mistakes.

We will once again dominate the TOP, and their defense will wear down. I really couldn't be less concerned about this game. I don't make guarantees, because the 49ers beat the Rams in week 1, but I'm about as concerned about the Bears as Indianapolis is concernd about the Browns right now. Not very.

[HoosierCat]

I watched that Bears/Lions game and saw the Redskins/Bears game. Overall the Lions went right into the teeth of the Bears. They sat back and tried to run with 3 wide. Then they tried to throw with 3 wide. They never deviated, and don't forget Joey was at QB. The WR's ran terrible routs, and even ran wrong routs. The O-line blew, and the Bears tore them apart. They are a blitz package team, and the Lions played them all wrong.

Two things to do against the Bears D. Run it heads up with a ton in the box like the Redskins which got 150 yards rushing. Or send 4 wide and dare them to blitz. Find the open man and throw all day. Those are the two ways to beat a team that lives by the blitz. I personally say run Rudi all day and punch them in the mouth. The Bengals can do this, and the Bears D is not that big.

As for the Bears offense, put 7 in the box and blitz safeties and corners (multiple at times). The Lions never did this. They sat in a 4-3 and only blitzed one LB. Never a DB. This gave Orton time, and he was able to be efficient. The Lions D was very vanilla, and they paid. Mix it up and Orton will get confused.

I'm not saying the Bears are a pushover, but they have weaknesses that Detroit didn't exploit. The Redskins did to the best of their ability and won. The Bengals D may not be as good as the Redskins, but I think they can do as good a job. Yet the Bengals have much more on offense than the skins. I like the Bengals chances, but I don't think any road game in the NFL is a gimme.

Nice writeup, Scott. I agree, bang the hell out of 'em with Rudi, and when they start creeping up to stop the run, fire downfield to Chad & TJ/

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

Chicago absolutely dominated probably the ... 2nd or 3rd worst team in the NFC .. if not the entire league. The week before, they looked a little above average against a very average Redskin offense.

They lost that game 9 to 7 and according to their own team site stopped the Redskins short of the goal line, but couldn't keep them from scoring the field goals when they needed to. The Chicago defense also couldn't contain the Redskin running game  The offense ( again according to their own site ) self imploded when the defense did give them opportunities.

Now that game was on the road, and we do have to play them in their house. No disrespect intended towards either team, but our running game ... and offense in general is better than the 'Skins. The Bears defense ( at home ) this year imho most likely isn't as good as the Ravens defense ( at home ) was last year ..... and our offense is better this year than it was last year.

I think Chicago is in for a long day. If the Bears fans would like a list of references, we can provide a growing list of them.

Hey! That's not true, the Redskins O isn't average! It's much worse than that Bottom 5 probably. Good chance at the worst overall.

Seriously, when evaluating these turd NFC teams this early, one has to consider that they're beating up on each other, not real teams. So I'm not impressed when the Bears trounce the Lions, having seen them unable to score points the week before against Washington. Is the Bears D good? Yes, but it's nowhere near as good as it's looked because they've been playing amateur teams. Do they have offense? Not much.

[redsfan2]

Chicago absolutely dominated probably the ... 2nd or 3rd worst team in the NFC .. if not the entire league. The week before, they looked a little above average against a very average Redskin offense.

They lost that game 9 to 7 and according to their own team site stopped the Redskins short of the goal line, but couldn't keep them from scoring the field goals when they needed to. The Chicago defense also couldn't contain the Redskin running game  The offense ( again according to their own site ) self imploded when the defense did give them opportunities.

Now that game was on the road, and we do have to play them in their house. No disrespect intended towards either team, but our running game ... and offense in general is better than the 'Skins. The Bears defense ( at home ) this year imho most likely isn't as good as the Ravens defense ( at home ) was last year ..... and our offense is better this year than it was last year.

I think Chicago is in for a long day. If the Bears fans would like a list of references, we can provide a growing list of them.

Some points to your reply.

I do agree that the Bears haven't seen an offense as efficient and talented as the Bengals. Thats one of the Reasons I see the Bengals winning. I think if the Bears had an average offense they could beat Cincy however. The Bears Offense continually puts the Bears defense in bad posistions. Most of the time the Bears D was good enough to hold. Against Cincy I don't see them Holding as well as they normally do. Still, with an average offense I think it would be a different story.

And Actually the bears were in a good position to win the game in week one. They were down 9-7 and in side field goal range vs the skins. Instead of just playing for the field goal and winning 10-7 the coacing staff decided to call a pass play and Orton threw a pick.

As for not containing the running game.... Yes Portis did get 121 yds but about 50 of that came on one run. They still gave up the yards so make of that what you will.

I think the Bears defense is better than Baltimores defense was last year. Its just that thier offense was so putrid it made the defense look "decent" instead of awesome.

Also, I think Thomas Jones is a better back than Rudi Johnson on an average Sunday. He runs with suprising power, is much more shifty, and substantially faster. Plus he's a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield. He's not a pile mover by any means but he will break some arm tackles. His real problem is injuries. He can never hold up over the course of 16 games and Ron Turner (the bears OC) wanted a bruising durable back for his ball control "O" and hence the Bears drafted Benson.

As for Harringtons play, I think it was much better than Culpeppers. his first 3 interceptions were not even his fault.

Pick 1) chicago pressure- Harrington was hit as he released causing the throw to be behind the reciever. the Chicago defender picked it off.

Pick 2) the Ball was batted by a defensive linemen and picked off by another lineman

Pcik 3) Roy Williams didn't finish his route and just stopped running. Harrington threw the ball to where Roy should be and instead a Chicago defender was waiting on it. (Roy didn"t finish the route because he knew he was covered)

Meanwhile Culpepper was just plain making BAD decesions. Throwing the Ball into a crowd of Bengals in the End Zone or over Throwing his screen target.

Again, I'm picking the Bengals to win this week and to play in the AFC championship game.

I know the Bengals "D" will win the Battle vs the Bears "O".

I just want to see the matchup on a down to down basis of Bears "D" vs Bengals "O" Just keep in mind after seeing the final score how much of that was due to the Bengals Offense winning the BAttle or the Bears offense losing the battle.

While I understand the points that you're making, the numbers just don't seem to bear ( no pun intended ) them out.

The Bears defense ranks 7th this year in the NFL after 2 games. The Ravens defense was ranked 6th in NFL at the end of the 2004 season against ( again imho ) stiffer competition than what the Bears have seen in either of their 2 games to date.

Jones while a good running back hasn't had the numbers that Johnson has. Jones' best year seems to be around 984 yards, while Johnson got over 1400 last year. Average yards per carry are about the same @ 4.0.

As to your other points, I don't think Harrington had the O line in front of him that Culpepper did. I don't' think either of Chicagos' qb's are quite as good as Culpepper or Dilfer, and I contend that the Vikes and ( this irks me to say ) the Browns do have decent offenses.

Cincinnatis' secondary has been a bright spot the first 2 games, and while we are still giving up yards in the running game we aren't giving up the points.

Having said all that, I still think the Bengals will win the game ......... but then I was absolutely sure they would beat the Cardinals too.

[duus]

Because I like history, and have seen other comments (in other topics) concerning the last 2-0 start for the Bengals, ...

I believe the last time the Bengals met the Bears was in that same 2001 season when the Bengals started 2-0. They lost that game in Cincinnati ... 24-0. Yikes.

Well, it's payback time! I say we return the favor, and record our own 24-0 shutout, this time in Chicago!

Go Bengals!

[CBin2k7]

Yeah your right, the Bengals were 3-2 at the time and the Bears dominated us and the Bears ended that season 13-3

[Stripes]

Well, it's payback time! I say we return the favor, and record our own 24-0 shutout, this time in Chicago!

A very real possibility if we can stop the run. There's no way in hell Kyle Orton will beat us. If we hold Benson and Jones in check, then they WON'T score any points.

[The Big Orange]

Here is my most recent sermon

Fear not, Bengals fans, fear not. This week’s match up verses the Chicago Bears has little for us to fear. Though many still doubt us, and even many of our own fans are not convinced, you can find great comfort in numbers. Walk with me through the first 2 games of this season and understand the confidence which we should now be enjoying.

The Chicago Bear offense is more than lack luster and saying they have the toughest defense in the NFC North is kind of like saying the Dominican Republic has the best army in the Caribbean…you’re not comparing it with much.

If you look at the offenses this stellar group of superb tacklers have shut down and shut out of the end zone you will find in a Detroit team who has been sacked and intercepted more times than has thrown touchdowns and who’s quarterback rating is in the low 50’s. The Lions running game isn’t much better averaging just 60 yards per game.

The Bears first opponent, the Redskins are averaging less than 12 points per game, and 3 field goals was more than enough to hand the Bears their season opening loss. The Redskins are, by far, the least impressive 2 and 0 team, and it will be a shocker if they end up with a winning record.

The Bears offense is more than anemic. Don’t let last weeks 38-6 romp fool you. They are just now breaking in a new quarterback with very few weapons around him. The Bears offense has only averaged 2 touchdowns per game that is less than the Bengals offense has averaged in the second quarter.

And while it is impressive to hold any 2 teams in any 2 games to 0 touchdowns, they weren’t the Bengals who currently ranks 1st in overall offense and in the top 5 in more categories than I can count.

The question marks for our team all seem to revolve around our defense. In looking at our opponents, whom we have dominated, the Vikings have traditionally had a powerhouse offense didn’t score on the Bengals until 3 minutes was left in the fourth quarter and were already behind by 37.

The Browns, which were an embarrassment last year, appear to be much improved this year and have averaged over 380 total yards on offense including averaging over 300 in the air. However, these teams, the Browns and the Vikings, averaged less than 11 points against our Bengals defense.

Our defense has averaged 5 turnovers per game (another 1st in the NFL) and though we haven’t had many sacks, the opposing quarterbacks appear under constant pressure that is adding to their mistakes and turnovers. If games were lost on yards allowed, then we would be mediocre, but they are not.

And while Carson Palmer continues to find ten different players to receive the ball we will be in good shape. While Rudi and Chris Perry continue to provide offensive balance with almost exactly the same number of run plays as pass plays, we will be in good shape. While Tory James, Deltha O’neal, and Keiwan Ratliff continue to pick apart our adversaries at will, we will be in good shape. As long as the coaches continue to have excellent play calling and simply yet effective defensive schemes, we will be in good shape. While our kicker, Shane Graham, continues to refuse to miss (another NFL 1st –points scored), we will be in good shape

Having said all of this, when we look at the 2005 Cincinnati Bengals there are bright spots and reasons for optimism at every turn. Any team can say, well, if everyone plays great we will do well. But right now, I believe that even if one or two areas should falter, our other areas can more than make up the difference. Everywhere you look is health.

And as our boys in orange board the bus which will take them back to O’hare Airport we will have yet another story to tell of a team proving itself, one game at a time. More offensive stories…more defensive stories…more individual milestones…and more team celebration. For all of the Bears fans who now have half hope and false hope that we won’t do to you what we have done to others, be comforted that you don’t have to face us twice…imagine if you were the Ravens.

[chrispurdon]

I think that everyone is getting over confident about this, remember what the bengals did to kc while back ago, were looking at the same shoes, same over powering offence, against a team that should be a run over, rookie qb or not, chicago has gotten the same set up that "big ben" inherated, i doubted him last year, and he made everyone look like a fool, and now orten has the same setup, unfortually i think that this is going to be the upset of the week.....

chicago- 21

bengals-18

[kingwilly]

Not really the same. Chicago's D is highly regarded. Ours in 2003 was not.

To your point about Orton being like Ben R., not quite. Ben had a corp of very good WR, Ward, Burres, Randl-El) tough RB's in Bus and Deuce and a proven D. Chicago has an OK run game, less gifted QB than Ben is, and a good but not Pitt level D.

I think Chicago will give us a good game, better than CLE or Minny but I don't think Chi has the personnal to stop our O and our D is more experienced than thier yound QB and O.

I think the real question here is can the Chi O handle our D...

[BengalszoneBilly]

Can the Bengals handle the Bears D???????

I think what they're worried about right now in Chi-town is wheather the Bears "D" handle the Bengals "O"! They are well aware that the next team they play doesn't have some hack named "Joey" chucking the ball downfield.

It's going to be different. A whole lot different!

Damn! I wish I could call 'em like this all the time!

The unequivical answer to this threads question of "Can the Bengals handle the Bears D?" the answer isn't yes, it's...

HELL YEAH!!!

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

So where's Zo?