01-21-2023, 02:39 PM
(01-21-2023, 11:52 AM)SHRacerX Wrote:
I think all that you said is fairly accurate. I have a strange feeling that the Bengals run game, with Mixon, Perine, and maybe even Tayveon Williams will have a huge impact on the game. Want to help the line get settled? Run the ball effectively. That will also open up play action and some deep shots. If the Bills aren't playing cover 2 deep all game, I am sure the Bengals will get their shots. Joe will hold it even if he is going to get lit up. He knows it is win or go home, and that dude knows how to win.
My biggest concern with the Bills is Dawson Knox. I know he isn't the threat that Diggs is right now, but without Flowers, the Bengals can't put a LB on him as they will be focused on stopping the run and a rushing Allen.
The Bills are the one team that if the Bengals lose to, I won't be pissed. Not that I feel they should beat everyone, but I am just sick of KC and tired of hearing about Brock Purdy. Buffalo is my third fav team behind the Lions and might be second after the way they came together after the near tragic play for Damar.
To your point, officiating scares the hell out of me. We have seen bogus, phanton, or non-calls that decided games. It feels like the NFL wants Allen/Mahomes at all costs. I hppe the Bengals give Goodell a nice, big shitburger to eat.
Just saw your other thread about the Bills being 30th against the run but thought I would post here first to bump BillsGuy1986's
thread. This could also be the way we go in settling the OL in the run game for once, even if Zac and Burrow love the Shotgun and
the empty sets. When we started our win streak, the running game being established was a big part of it.
Agree on everything and especially Knox being a big concern going into this one if Flowers is out and even if he plays, he will be
banged up. Need Dax Hill to show why he was a 1st round pick in this game.
(01-21-2023, 01:09 PM)Nepa Wrote: Years ago, when I first started to watch (I became a Bengals fan in 1968), teams always received the ball first. That's because the rules then didn't allow one to defer when winning the coin toss and thus if a team kicked off to start, the other team would choose the side they wanted to defend for the kickoff and then also get to choice to receive the second half kickoff. That all changed sometime in the 2000s. with the option to defer to the second half.
In recent memory, with the option to defer, teams generally choose to kickoff to start the game and then receive the second half kickoff. I really think this was because of the success the Patriots and Brady had. It seemed they were always ending the first half with the ball and then starting the second half with the ball. I don't like when announcers talk about getting two for one. That's a phrase that fits in basketball, not in football. It's a lazy phrase. It's really getting the ball two times in a row.
But the Bengals have been receiving first. Why? I think because of what another poster said -- confidence. They are not intimidated by the crowds and noise and brightness of the stage, but do like the opportunity to put the other team in a hole to start. I think here is also an intimidation factor in that it goes against what other teams have been doing-- a kind of "we're not afraid to take the ball first." And I also think because the Bengals are really good at adjusting their defense for the second half of games, so kicking off the second half is not all that detrimental.
And, let's be honest, always ending up with the ball at the end of a half and beginning of the next half is not a thing. Teams have just as much a chance to kick off to start a game and still end up with the ball at the end of the first half.
Great post. I also think it is an intimidation factor in just taking the ball first and going down the field and scoring. As you said, we
aren't scared to take the ball first. I really liked the inner 8 minutes thing that Brady was talking about and we were using a lot last
season, but you are right, that isn't something you can always rely on so it is a great move to change things up and show confidence
and be aggressive as hell early.
(01-21-2023, 01:28 PM)Synric Wrote: Which game was it when they started taking the ball after they won the coin toss Atlanta or Carolina? They have either lost once or been undefeated since then lol.
Think it was the Falcons game.
