2014

Week One- Bengals 23 Ravens 16
Week Two- Bengals 24 Falcons 10
Week Three- Bengals 33 Titans 7

2015

Week One- Bengals 33 Raiders 13
Week Two- Bengals 24 Chargers 19
Week Three- Bengals 28 Ravens 24

Dalton starts both 2014 and 2015 playing excellent. Listening to morning sports talk after week 3 for both 2014 and 2015, "The Bengals are a Super Bowl team and one if not the most talented rosters in the NFL."


My question is this, with both years mirroring one another in every way, are you of the position "Ive been here before and your going to have to show me this really is going to be different than the past years" or are you feeling "This is a different team than the previous years and Im finally going to see this team succeed in the post season"

How are you feeling after three weeks of football about our Bengals?

Exciting, nail-biting game to watch and the reffing was horrendous as usual; super pissed off, but whatever, we won and that's all that matters (Jegg wasn't so smooth in the late-night game either). But anyways, Andy and AJ were awesome and the dline, despite no sacks, was great at frustrating the Ravens' oline all day, both on the pass and the run. Anyways, the grades as follows!

Top 5 on O:

1. Andy with a +5.8. Super, superb game, aside from the pick and he indeed played with a fire and a passion today that we probably have never seen before. Great touch on his intermediate throws and even better on his deep throws; lovely game on the ground too.

2. AJ with a +2.8. If not for his 2 penalties, he would've been higher, but another phenomenal game from AJ; the adjustments he made on balls were absolutely ridiculous and of course he benefitted from the DBs running into each other, but he still made the moves to make sure that happened. Best game by a WR in the league this year, bar none.

3. Whitworth with a +2.8. Is it any wonder? His perfect game streak ended, but he only gave up a solitary hurry and he's still given up the least amount of pressures of any Olineman on the year; man possessed and let's hope he can keep Hali at bay.

4. MLJ with a +1.4. Basically what I said for AJ, applies here, though on a lesser scale. Adjustments were fantastic.

5. Burkhead with a +1.0. Have nothing to say because I don't see how he gets a grade this high for standing around for *1* play. Think a fudge-up on PFF's part.

Top 3 on Ratbirds:

1. Steve Smith (duh) +3.9
2. Yanda +3.1
3. Gillmore +1.0

Just a side note, Hurst was -11.4 and Vagner was -5.2; our bookends didn't get sacks but they took them to school.

Bottom 5 on O:

Sanu -1.1 (Don't see that it should be THAT low, but whatever, he indeed didn't have the best game, but got some solid YAC and hard-nosed collisions)

Hill -1.7 (still not worried, but they essentially STOPPED using him out of the blue yesterday; give the guy reps)

Eifert -5.8 (no catches {though he essentially had 2}, horrible run blocking and the pass blocking was especially bad {and I'm not solely talking about the sack; he allowed another hit as well, in only 7 pass blocks}. Not worried, he'll bounce back next week)

'dre -6.7 (also don't see how he should be THIS bad, though he didn't have a stellar game either. He'll bounce back too)

Bodine -8.4 (after a career game last week, he had easily the worst game of his career yesterday; what an awful display of ineptness and failure)

Top 5 on D:

1. MJ with a +4.3. Finally was a disruptor; only 2 assists but 5 pressures and shut down his lanes to death, a great game from MJ, though wish he would've gotten his first sack... Now dismantle Stephenson (if he is at LT) next week!

2. Geno with a +2.6. Didn't do a whole lot in the pass rush game (just 3 hurries) but wow did he shut down running lanes! That first step is so deadly.

3. Adam Jones with a +2.6. Led the team in (solo) tackles again lol. Smith did little to nothing against him, this time around.

4. Dunlap with a +1.5. 2 hits (that BOTH should've been sacks, stupid horseshoe Flacco), 2 hurries and great tackled all over the field, another day at the office for big 'los. Hope he can get a sack back next week, he deserves it.

5. Rey with a +1.5. Solid open field tackling and no chance for runners on the day. Has been much better since returning from injury last year.


Top 3 on Bmore:

1. Brandon Williams (duh) +7.8
2. Dumerville +6.9
3. Timmy Jernigan +3.1

Bottom 5 on D:

Carter -1.2 (he's an idiot, plain and simple)

Leon -1.4 (only issue I had with him yesterday was that idiotic attempt to knock the ball out instead tackling the guy and forcing 4th down. Just stupid, otherwise have no issues)

Nelson -1.5 (hmm... he's slipping but I don't see anything glaring)

Dre -3.4 (not deserving at all. Complete bullshit. Little YAC given up, the TD was a push-off and he had a PD, plus 4 for 8 when throwing to him for 6.6 yards a target. Bullshit)

Lamur -4.2 (no surprises, his hands are made of butter)

On teams, Clark Harris (since nobody can get his name correct) and Huber were the big winner, while everyone else (including Nuge'), was positive save for Chris, the idiot Carter, who was negative due to a MT.

This MAY be the final PFF week, as they are going to switch to their stupid ratings (I'm going to send them a long email telling them that I'm never subscribing again and that its a mistake; wtf is the point of what they're doing?) ala Madden, that have absolutely zero context etc., compared to what they do now. Not impressed.

Good read from yahoo.com that I didn't see on here yet. Enjoy and WHO DEY!?

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/nfl-winners-and-losers--cincinnati-bengals--super-bowl-contenders-030130143.html


FL Winners and Losers: Cincinnati Bengals, Super Bowl contenders
Shutdown Corner
Frank Schwab 9 hours ago

OK, we’ve been down this road with the Cincinnati Bengals before. They look good, the roster looks fantastic, but we all know they will disappoint in January.

I don't think that will happen this season. The Bengals are very good, and they need to be stamped as legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

Dismiss the Bengals if you wish, but they’re for real. If anyone is going to stop the New England Patriots train in the AFC, it’s the Bengals, unless the Denver Broncos somehow get their offense to play near the same level as their fine defense.

Who is the second-best team in the AFC? The Baltimore Ravens are 0-3. The Buffalo Bills look fine, but if you’re eliminating the Bengals because they haven’t won in January, then Buffalo’s not your team either. The Indianapolis Colts really exciting you? Is it really the Broncos, who came into Week 3 with the least efficient offense in the NFL?

The Bengals went on the road in Week 1 and beat the Oakland Raiders. Oakland is 2-0 since. The past two weeks Cincinnati beat the San Diego Chargers and Baltimore Ravens, two teams that posted winning records last season. Their résumé after three weeks is strong. And with the Pittsburgh Steelers missing Ben Roethlisberger for at least four-to-five, or maybe six weeks (that’s “at least” … I think the Steelers would happily sign up for five or six weeks right now), the Bengals have a great shot to build a big lead in the AFC North.

Andy Dalton (Getty Images)
There’s no reason, if you look at the roster and don’t dwell on what has happened in postseasons past, that the Bengals can’t win big. A.J. Green is on a rare level of truly elite receivers. Tight end Tyler Eifert has become a viable weapon. Few teams have two backs as good as Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard. The defense is very talented.

And now we get to the elephant in the room.

Yes, it’s hard to buy into Andy Dalton as a Super Bowl quarterback. But Dalton has had moments of success, and he is off to a blazing start in 2015. He has eight touchdowns and one interception, and a 121 rating. He has a better rating at this moment than Tom Brady. When the Bengals were down twice in the fourth quarter Sunday against the Ravens, he threw two touchdown passes (albeit with a lot of help from Green) to lead Cincinnati to the win. The Bengals don’t need Dalton to be a 121 rating quarterback, which is good because there’s no chance he continues this pace. But Dalton doesn’t need to be great. He just needs to be good, and obviously better in the playoffs than he has been in Cincinnati’s four straight playoff losses.


Narratives can be true, at least until they change. At one point Michael Jordan was the guy who couldn’t win the big one, and back in the day folks used to believe you absolutely needed a great running game to win a Super Bowl. Things change. Just because the Bengals have lost four playoff games in a row doesn’t mean they’re precluded from changing that this season.

Time to face it: Unless you want to see the Patriots back in the Super Bowl, you better hope that this Bengals start is for real. They might be the AFC’s best hope at knocking off the champs.

Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 3 in the NFL:

WINNERS

Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles looked like the New York Jets did for the first two weeks of the season. The Jets looked like the Eagles did for the first two weeks. That’s why the NFL is so popular. You can never predict it.

What did the Eagles do in the first two weeks that gave anyone hope that they could win at the Jets? They were a mess on offense and not too great on defense either. But it all clicked on Sunday in a 24-17 win. Instead of 0-3 and mostly done, the Eagles are a palatable 1-2.

It will be very interesting now what Chip Kelly does when DeMarco Murray returns. Murray was out Sunday with a hamstring injury. Mathews, a very good back when healthy, filled in and had 128 total yards and a touchdown in a very tough matchup. Murray has struggled badly, though it’s just two weeks. Would Kelly go right back to him or ride the hot hand?


NFC South: I’ll go on a limb and say the NFC South won’t have a champion with a losing record for a season straight season.

The Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers are each 3-0, and Sunday’s wins weren’t easy. The Falcons faced three separate 14-point deficits but came back and beat the Dallas Cowboys 39-28. Devonta Freeman was great, with 141 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The Falcons offense is really explosive, and played well on Sunday in the comeback.

The Panthers were also down early, as the New Orleans Saints took a 10-0 lead. But Cam Newton played very well, with 315 yards, 134 of which went to tight end Greg Olsen. Newton rushed for a touchdown too.

The Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers don’t look very good early this season, but the top two teams in the division are OK. It should be a fun race, with the victor emerging with a winning record this time.


Carson Palmer: It’s not often you see a quarterback turn a corner in his mid-30s.

Carson Palmer (Getty Images)
Palmer came to the Cardinals at age 34. He was not very good with the Oakland Raiders, though it’s also fair to say that the Raiders of a few years ago weren't going to help anyone. But Palmer got with Cardinals coach Bruce Arians and has had a career renaissance.

Arizona looks like a contender as well, in the NFC. The Cardinals destroyed the San Francisco 49ers 47-7 on Sunday. A couple pick-sixes by the defense added to the score, but the offense did its job too. Palmer had 311 yards. Larry Fitzgerald is back to being a dangerous threat, as he had 134 yards and both scores. And speaking of rejuvenation, Chris Johnson had 110 yards and two touchdowns. Who saw that coming a month ago?

The Cardinals are 19-6 when Palmer starts for them. It has been a marvelous fit.

Jack Del Rio: After one week, it had to be hard for the Oakland Raiders coach to convince his team that it wouldn't turn into the same old Raiders. They had just been blasted by the Bengals in a home opener. But two games later the Raiders have as much momentum as they’ve had in many, many years.

The Raiders followed up a nice win over the Ravens in Week 2 by going on the road and beating the Cleveland Browns. That’s no small thing for the franchise. The Raiders were 2-22 the past three years in road games.

There should be a lot of hope. Derek Carr looks like a franchise quarterback. He had 314 yards and two touchdowns. Latavius Murray had 139 rushing yards. Amari Cooper had 134 receiving yards. There’s a lot to like in Oakland.

The Raiders aren’t a complete team. The defense needs a lot of work and the overall depth on the roster needs to improve. But it’s looking up in Oakland.

After Dalton threw what turned out to be the clinching TD to AJ Green, a fired up Dalton ran over to AJ to celebrate.  AJ kind of ignored him or didn't know it was Dalton and was taunting the crowd a bit.

That wasn't the best part.  Dalton had that almost angry look on his face as he got to the sidelines after congratulating AJ as though he was thinking:  "doubt that you...." and one teammate mugs him and picks him up a little with a big squeeze hug.  It was none other than Vontaze Burfict. 

I'm sorry I don't have a picture to post of it, but if some of you more computer-skilled individuals can find it please share. 

I just thought it was cool to see Burfict so fired up.  Going through rehab has to be a bit easier knowing your team is rolling and you could be the piece that puts them over the top. 

I simply can't wait to see him with this defense again. 

17-13  Bengals

When you guys are done drooling over a game that should've been a comfy win, realize that stuff is only gonna get real from here on out.


Heres our next three games:

1. Cheifs.
2. Seahawks.
3. Bills


Our defense CANNOT tackle Jamall Charles if they tackle in any way close to as they did against the Ravens' offense (who consisted of nobodies all around)

Seahawks will stack against the run and dare Dalton to beat the legion of Boom...yeah.


If the Bills play anywhere near the way they did today, we could very well go 0-3 before our by.

A little statistical "fun". Here would be the season totals for the following guys...

Andy Dalton
325 completions
491 attempts
66.3%
43 TDs
5 Ints
75 rush attempts
112 Yards
5 Rush TDs
5 Fumbles

Gio Bernard
219 Attempts
1253 Yards
0 TDs
64 Rec
400 Yards
0 TDs
0 Fumbles

J Hill
219 Attempts
656 Yards
11 TDs
11 Fumbles
5 Rec
11 Yards
0 Rec TDs

AJ Green
96 Rec
1787 Yards
16 TDs
0 Fumbles

Marvin Jones
48 Rec
859 Yards
11 TDs
5 Rush Attempts
16 Yards
0 Rush TDs
0 Fumbles

Eifert
69 Rec
816 Yards
16 TDs
0 Fumbles

Aside from the two AJ TD's in the fourth, which were the biggest plays, what other plays stick out?

How about Leon's tackle that forced the Ratbirds to kick a FG?   Also liked Andy's scramble and toss to
Gio for a first down.

What else?

So during the game there was a play where Baltimore was just shy of the sideline marker on 3rd down.

The commentator proceeded to claim "They place those markers just past the line to gain so the players will reach for it, that will be a first down".

NEVER have I heard anythin so rediculous, and yet they measured it and gave Baltimore the first.

They need to let the rest of the league know about this, as they have the chains lined up PRECISELY with the point of the marker in Detroit.  Just as it ALWAYS is.

Count as a playoff win? After we go 16-0 and get that bye i want to be able to say we got a playoff win.

Looks to me like the players are ready to win the big games this year. Now we just need the coaches to get on board and quit shitting down their leg when the pressure is on.