Take a bow....week 1

[*SHRacerX*]

In honor of one of Dave Lapham's favorite quotes, "Take a bow" recognizes the top performers from week 1.

Take a bow (in no particular order):

[b]Andy Dalton[/b]- No rushing attack to speak of. The pocket afforded to Dalton...well, let's say you could fit five of them inside what was afforded to Brady last night. Without AJ Green. Without his starting LT. With a rookie at X. Dalton stayed cool under pressure and had a great game against a really good defense. Keep it up, Andy. Your first experience with an offensive head coach is going to be a very good one.

John Ross- I don't care what has happened in his first two seasons under Marv. In his FIRST GAME under ZT, with no AJ drawing coverage, he showed his potential impact on this team. He didn't let an early drop and an NFL rectal on a reviewed catch (WTF were they looking at?) affect him. And Dalton kept going to him. The funny part? I STILL don't think they have tapped what he can do on screens. That first TD? The second would-be tackler wouldn't have got him in flag football. Hilarious. Way to prove the doubters wrong, John.

The offensive line, in particular, Michael Jordan. Never heard the rookies name, and that is what you want on the offensive line. Amazing start for the rookie. Can't wait to see the PFF rankings here. Bobby Hart, John Miller, and Trey Hopkins deserve credit here as well. Andre did his best in a tough situation and was getting destroyed by Clowney....but who doesn't? Here is what I saw: They were challenged early, and beat badly in the early parts of the game, but they didn't get frustrated and quit...they adapted. They got better as a unit as time went on. The rushing attack was stymied by Seattle's insistence of staying in a 4-3 base look and they dared the Bengals to beat them in the air. Pass blocking is harder than run blocking and most offensive linemen would tell you they would prefer to hit the opponent rather than catch. They had to pass block 51 times and Dalton rarely got him. Major props, fellas.

Sam Hubbard- This guy would be talked about like Clowney if he played for any other team. He came in stronger, faster, and with an attitude. His play raised the standard for the entire defensive line. And Wilson's knee hit on what should have been a THIRD sack for Hubbard. He also did a fantastic job of sealing the edge when Russell kept the ball. I would give him the game ball.

Preston Brown, Nick Vigil, and Jordan Evans- They used to call the offensive line in the 90s "The M&M Boys" for "Much Maligned". That is these guys. Our worst position group stuffed the #1 rushing offense in the league last year to the tune of 2.9 ypc. I heard boos in the stands as their run KEPT GETTING STUFFED. Great job, guys.

Coaches- The right scheme. The right attitude. The right use of the roster. I believe we will also see this scheme change from week to week (or even at halftime? ) without BS excuses like "we don't have time to change, we just need to tackle better". I have said for years that this team had the talent but was hamstrung by the poor coaching. No more. Thank you, coaches. I could almost picture Marv's dazed look while being curb-stomped if you weren't here.