***Week 1 GameDay Thread...Ravens @ Bengals***

[wcu]

Disappointing, but not surprising. Our worst fears about the oline were confirmed. While Dalton did enough to look terrible on his own, it didn't help that he got hit 4535 times and always had someone in his face or around his feet every time he dropped back. The batted passes are directly attributable to the oline. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that we couldn't protect on traditional 5 and 7 step drops, so we relied on 3 step drops and quick reads. That's when the Ravens started getting their hands on the ball.

LaFell is a joke. The only reason he put up the numbers he had last season was because Green was out and he was forced into the #1 role. I'm not so sure the first red zone int wasn't his fault, and he let a pass hit him because he wasn't paying attention. Also, how in the hell is a false start by a wide out our first play of the season?

On a positive note, aside from the long TD, the defense looked pretty good. They were asked to be on the field a lot and did well considering the situations they were placed in.

The penalties were embarrassing. So many at such key moments in the game. Perhaps they're a side effect of our youth movement, but if the rest of our struggles continue, racking up penalty yardage like that will ensure that we win 2 games.

All of this appears to be fixable. However, if our two young tackles don't grow up quickly (doubtful), this season will be over before it really gets started. Tez will add a spark on D. Hopefully Ross will be able to get open. Dalton won't play that bad all year.

Again, I'm terribly disappointed, but not at all surprised.