WIN?

[halp]

this is the kind of start that MAY produce the WIN!!!!

[jbengals1]

heck yea look good so far i'll be happy with a GOOD SHOWING

[hottub]

heck yea look good so far i'll be happy with a GOOD SHOWING

Then you should be happy. Of course, the Bengs were playing the Senior Tour, and Raiders were dinged up....

[B24]

No win, but they looked a lot better than last week. Man I still wish they could have pulled this one out.

Things may be on the upswing though with Lewis at the helm.

[jbengals1]

Things may be on the upswing though with Lewis at the helm.

to me this was a WIN to play at the same level if not better than the 2003 superbowl contenders was great to see and it looks like the Bengals are going in the right direction...L@@K out Steelers here comes the BENGALS

P.S. if it wasn't for 1 - Int

1 - bad zebra call

this would have been a WIN

[B24]

P.S. if it wasn't for 1 - Int

1 - bad zebra call

I was so mad when the Raiders fumble was ruled dead. What makes it worse is that it's not reviewable. They need to change that rule!!!

[kingwilly]

I watched a decent game Sunday. The Bengals played football. Real football.

Don’t be fooled. The Raiders are a very good team. The Bengals played them heads-up and ALMOST squeaked the W. The Raiders looked slow, old and outclassed for all but 3 plays.

Some observations: Lots of good, very little bad.

BOLD STATEMENT: CD does not hyper-extend his knee, Bengals win going away.

Now, KingWilly game-balls.

PW. He had his "shake-a-bake" on. He looked as good as I've ever seen him play. The refs blew the call on his punt return, calling him OOB. He put some moves on that flashed of brilliance. PW gets a KingWilly game-ball, just no more fair-catches inside the ten or running out of the end-zone, when a touchback gets us 20, please.

Chad Johnson. He came to play, played on the tip and was not intimidated by the OAK defense that is known for shutting down good teams, Chad impressed with clutch catches and tiptoe plays. Very deserving of another KingWilly game-ball.

Bengals Defense. The D held on the line, held in the secondary and nary let anything actually happen. This is Lewis-style defense. Shut it down, minimize even the most successful plays and keep your team in a position to win. If not for a very nice play by Charlie Garner (one-hand grab, then turn and juke Burris) the Bengals force this game to OT. KingWilly game-ball to the D.

Special Teams. Save the PW “problems” with how and when to field the ball, they played well. Another KingWilly game-ball to the Specials Teams, especially Brandon Bennett.

Coaches. The staff kept this team in the game. Down 10-0 early. Rally time. This starts with attitude and preparation. These are the coaches responsibility to achieve. KingWilly game-ball to the Coaching staff for de-programming and then re-programming this team to have the no-quit, search-and-destroy attitude it takes to compete and win.

KingWilly lame-balls.

Kitna. Oh, Kitna, Kitna, Kitna. How bittersweet it is. Kitna, I believe in you. You are a gamer. Never say die, never quit, just don’t go to the well too often. Especially with plays, that if jumped, go the other way for a touch. While this is not to be taken as a harsh admonishment, and you have elevated your game to a level Sunday I never expected, it was still the play that broke our backs. We score there, even a FG, and we win. They intercept and we tackle them, we can win. They intercept and run it back for the TD, we lose. The good things were the nice touch, the 99% improved decision-making, and the un-Bengal-like rebound from the one mistake to give us a chance to go to OT. Almost a KingWilly game-ball.

Jeff Burris. Beyond Garner’s one-hand catch (very-nice) Jeff, you have to make the tackle. None of this bent over arm-grabby stuff. If there is one-thing I learned from my old grade-school coaches at St. Antoninus in Cincinnati, keep your eye on the guys belt buckle and keep your head up, lead with you shoulder and wrap. Even if the guy gets another step, by then there will be someone there to help drill him. If you were tired, get another guy in there. Not sure if this is a coaching error (scheme/coverage), not recognizing the Burris hit the wall, or if Burris thought there would be help behind him. Either way, that play gave the Raiders the Field position to take a couple shots downfield for the PI call on……. Burris! Again, I personally think his tank ran dry (who can blame him). Coaching has to keep an eye on the fuel tanks of the players on the field, for you can bet the other team is.

Referees: Take note, refs have a hard, unforgiving job. >>>BUT<<< there is no excuse for the fumble-whistle call on the strip of Fargas, or the blown call on PW stepping OOB. I saw at least 2 PI call that should have been call on the Raiders and the hodling call on PW was crap. At any rate, there were probably a few that the Bengals could have been called for so...almost a push.

This game gives me quite a bit of hope. This game showed me that Coach Lewis has given this team the structure and expectation of excellence that breeds wins. A little more water, a little more sun, and this team blooms into a winner yet.

Bring on the Squeelers.

[jbengals1]

I watched a decent game The Bengals played Real football.

The Raiders are a very good team. The Bengals played them heads-up

.

game-balls.

PW. & Chad Johnson. & Bengals Defense.

especially Brandon Bennett.Special Teams. &

Coaches.

. A little more water, a little more sun, and this team blooms into a winner

Bring on the Squeelers.

great write up kingwilly !!!!

[halp]

please help me out.....think about this as you answer.....did kit audible to the slant to chad?....do bratkowski and lewis let kit call the game?....is there a receiver inside kit's helmet?....who calls and who transmits the plays to the field?... if indeed it was an audible; then shame shame......it was a good defensive play on the int. for a t.d......as pw admitted last year, he didn't always run the pattern completely ....as a result, who looks bad? the qb! ... now the recievers and qb are on the same page.....kit believes; last drive to tie it shows the team believes in kit as well....GAME BALL earned atleast on LEADERSHIP!!!

[jbengals1]

halp,

kit gets the playes in his helmet for marvin lewis/brat but if im right he can change them depending on how the D is changing or adjusting... I also think kitna gets a gameball he is a never say die leader and thats what this team needs

[HoosierCat]

Special Teams. Save the PW “problems” with how and when to field the ball, they played well. Another KingWilly game-ball to the Specials Teams, especially Brandon Bennett.

Great post, Willy. Only thing I can disagree with is giving a game ball to special teams. Bennett and Shayne Graham were solid, but between Warrick, the at-best-mediocre coverage, and -- most of all -- Nick "my 80 year old grandma can punt farther" Harris, STs get a thumbs down from me. If our bad punts hadn't kept giving the Raiders awesome starting field position, the 7 points that Buchanon INT cost us would have been the only points the Raiders scored Sunday.

[kingwilly]

I hear you guys. I guess I went so far as to give the ST's a game ball due to relativity. They have been SO BAD in the past, that even moderately decent play is appreciated.

PW has got to get it through his head. He is a very skilled player but he is not Deion Sanders back there. Lewis will get him disciplined.

As far as halp's note about Kitna: I'm not sure if the call came in through the sidelines or an audible or what, BUT Kitna has got to pick up on when the corner has a break on him. Either way, it was a great play by Buchanon (porbably why he got picked so high).

I am impressed with Kitna's leadership and his resiliency coming back from the pick. I'll revise and give him half a game ball. Also, the O-Line showed marked improvement, another half a game ball.

Can't wait for Sunday.

kingwilly