Only 190 yards.

That’s what the Bengals have accumulated on the ground over the first two games of the 2020 season. The breakdown is as follows:

Joe Mixon: 115 yards
Joe Burrow: 65 yards
Giovani Bernard: 10 yards

The Chargers and Browns combined for 370 yards against the Cincinnati defense.

To me this means the offensive line is even worse at run blocking than they are at pass blocking. This is unacceptable but it explains why Joe Burrow has thrown 98 times in two games. That’s way too many pass attempts even for an accurate quarterback!

With no run game the Bengals are back in 2019 mode. A team cannot move the chains consistently and manage the clock with no run game; this will take a toll on the defense as well as they will be on the field often and for too long.

People will attack your post by showing the ineffectiveness of the rushing attack, but after signing Mixon to the contract he just signed, you simply MUST have more balance in your offense for all involved. Even if the rushes aren't yielding massive yardage, they need to keep defenses honest and have Burrow in more 3rd and 4 situations instead of 3rd and 10 or worse.

(09-20-2020, 12:09 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Only 190 yards.

That’s what the Bengals have accumulated on the ground over the first two games of the 2020 season.  The breakdown is as follows:

Joe Mixon: 115 yards
Joe Burrow:  65 yards
Giovani Bernard:  10 yards

The Chargers and Browns combined for 370 yards against the Cincinnati defense.

To me this means the offensive line is even worse at run blocking than they are at pass blocking.  This is unacceptable but it explains why Joe Burrow has thrown 98 times in two games.  That’s way too many pass attempts even for an accurate quarterback!  

With no run game the Bengals are back in 2019 mode.  A team cannot move the chains consistently and manage the clock with no run game; this will take a toll on the defense as well as they will be on the field often and for too long.

I disagree with your assessment.

The first thing it points out is our run defense is atrocious, averaging 185 yards per game.

The run game against the Browns was bad, but against the Chargers it was pretty good, and yet Taylor abandoned it early (as he did most of 2019).  I don't think the blocking is worse, I think the play calling prevents the offense from getting into a rhythm.

(09-20-2020, 12:30 PM)jfkbengals Wrote: I disagree with your assessment.

The first thing it points out is our run defense is atrocious, averaging 185 yards per game.

The run game against the Browns was bad, but against the Chargers it was pretty good, and yet Taylor abandoned it early (as he did most of 2019).  I don't think the blocking is worse, I think the play calling prevents the offense from getting into a rhythm.

That’s okay, JFK! I don’t post for everyone to agree with me. You make good points about play calling. It’s very limited and worse than vanilla.

Love seeing Gio at 10 yards and Mixon averaging something like 3YPC, sure the line sucks ass. Afraid to see if the minivan driving Bernard can outperform Mixon given the situation? Seems odd to have Gio run up the gut well (in the past) and Mixon trying to bounce outside.

Burrow throwing 62 times in his 2nd game, lol.

I'm hoping we see a new right side of the Oline next Sunday.

The Bengals oline simply isnt getting a push at the point of attack.our olineman is getting stood up. None of our lineman
Are getting to the 2nd level. Opposing LBers are getting upfield in.the gaps forcing Mixon to change his tracks ,stop and trying to bounce it outside.
The Bengals have played 2 top 10 dlines in the league. But as Ric Flair said [ to be the man you have to beat the man}
Simply the oline isnt communicating good enough and they are still wearing dresses

That would be a good chant for Burrow to say to the team before every game, to be the man you have to beat the man. The o-line has to hear that often. With Andy I feel like they would pull together in critical situations for him, but that was in Whitowrth days.

(09-20-2020, 12:40 PM)reuben.ahmed Wrote: Love seeing Gio at 10 yards and Mixon averaging something like 3YPC, sure the line sucks ass. Afraid to see if the minivan driving Bernard can outperform Mixon given the situation? Seems odd to have Gio run up the gut well (in the past) and Mixon trying to bounce outside.

Burrow throwing 62 times in his 2nd game, lol.

10 total yards, 1 @ 3 yard carry 1 @ 7 yard carry.  Both carries in situations where a defense favors the pass.  Mixon's long is 14, and most all of his carries have been in situations that feature a balanced defense or a defensive alignment that is going to favor the run.

You're comparing apples and oranges.

Watching the OL (especially the right side) is borderline laughable. Watch them - they don't attack and/or drive into the defense. They start backpedaling immediately. It's why there is no pocket and why no running lanes.

Hard to get a lot of rushing yards with 61 PAs

Seriously, what happened to the running game from the end of last year?
Did Glenn and Miller make that big of a difference?
Even if they aren't attempting as much, Mixon is only averaging 3.3 ypc.

(09-20-2020, 09:22 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Seriously, what happened to the running game from the end of last year?
Did Glenn and Miller make that big of a difference?
Even if they aren't attempting as much, Mixon is only averaging 3.3 ypc.

There are no running lanes to speak of. The line can’t sustain blocks nor can they counter linebackers who immediately shoot the gaps they DO manage to make. Joe Mixon is talented but if there’s no gap to run through he’s going to get stuffed like a turkey.

(09-20-2020, 09:27 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: There are no running lanes to speak of.  The line can’t sustain blocks nor can they counter linebackers who immediately shoot the gaps they DO manage to make.  Joe Mixon is talented but if there’s no gap to run through he’s going to get stuffed like a turkey.

I get that, but why? It's the same LG, C, and RT from last year, as well as the same OL coach, OC, and HC.
The only differences are LT and RG.

(09-20-2020, 09:34 PM)ochocincos Wrote: I get that, but why? It's the same LG, C, and RT from last year, as well as the same OL coach, OC, and HC.
The only differences are LT and RG.

And the RB who got paid rather than playing to get paid.

(09-20-2020, 09:34 PM)ochocincos Wrote: I get that, but why? It's the same LG, C, and RT from last year, as well as the same OL coach, OC, and HC.
The only differences are LT and RG.

The run blocking schemes are too predictable, Ocho. The opposing defensive line doesn’t even have to run stunts to get into the backfield to tackle Mixon for a loss. The big ideas on offensive line play according to Dave Lapham are (1) low man wins, (2) stay centered with whoever you’re trying to block, and (3) sustain that block as long as possible.

Those are just the basics — and the Bengals don’t have them down.

Without mastery of those three fundamentals a line can’t do all the advanced stuff like pull, trap, chip, turn, and block directionally in general. Offensive line play is like doing integral calculus but these guys can’t even add or subtract.

(09-20-2020, 09:42 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: The run blocking schemes are too predictable, Ocho.  The opposing defensive line doesn’t even have to run stunts to get into the backfield to tackle Mixon for a loss.  The big ideas on offensive line play according to Dave Lapham are (1) low man wins, (2) stay centered with whoever you’re trying to block, and (3) sustain that block as long as possible.

Those are just the basics — and the Bengals don’t have them down.

Without mastery of those three fundamentals a line can’t do all the advanced stuff like pull, trap, chip, turn, and block directionally in general.  Offensive line play is like doing integral calculus but these guys can’t even add or subtract.

So why were they able to do it in the second half of last year but not do it this year so far?

(09-20-2020, 09:46 PM)ochocincos Wrote: So why were they able to do it in the second half of last year but not do it this year so far?

The second half of 2019 was definitely better than the first half — but it was not good. Watch New England, New Orleans, or Pittsburgh. Those lines play very well.

Watching pats game, missing rex burkhead.

Phone wanted to correct it to rex butthead.

(09-20-2020, 12:56 PM)jfkbengals Wrote: 10 total yards, 1 @ 3 yard carry 1 @ 7 yard carry.  Both carries in situations where a defense favors the pass.  Mixon's long is 14, and most all of his carries have been in situations that feature a balanced defense or a defensive alignment that is going to favor the run.

You're comparing apples and oranges.

Whichever mixon is, isn't working and we should consider trying the other fruit. Most RBs would probably fail behind our line but it's not like we have a scrub on the bench. The chubb/hunt combo is going to kill people.

I seem to recall gio running up the gut a lot better than we should expect for a guy his size..maybe he can fit through smaller lanes. Mixon's decision making is flawed because he has to factor in he probably can't fit through the lane, and he may be touched behind LOS. I still see him dance and go outside because he has no choice. Mixon to the outside, not his strong suit lol.

Just because he signed a nice contract, it'd a hard pill to swallow if gio performed better, like he has in the past.

What I meant by gios 10 yards is they have basically eliminated him from the run game. Mixon isn't working for a multitude of reasons. Would it hurt to try gio more?

I like to think if we aren't confident in converting 3rd and 1s, we won't win a game. Can we convert a 3rd and 1 on regularity? Ideally we should convert 3rd and two a high percentage of the time to stand a chance.

E.g. ross isn't working, why isn't tate getting more snaps? Teams that are slow to adjust is a Marvin lewis era.

It seems like our big plays so far come on a burrow audible. I hope we have more adjusting going on than what's in burrow's head lol.