The Good, Bad, and 5up/5down: Week 1

[Jhowdy54]

Think we left atleast 17 pts on the field. Burrow overthrow to Green, Burrow INT, and Bullock blunder. Had a chance to seal the game early and we didn't. Also Dline failed to get pressure most of the game except when we blitzed. Chargers oline sucks and also had 2 starters out.

[Murdock2420]

(09-14-2020, 12:11 AM)Jhowdy54 Wrote: Think we left atleast 17 pts on the field. Burrow overthrow to Green, Burrow INT, and Bullock blunder.   Had a chance to seal the game early and we didn't.  Also Dline failed to get pressure most of the game except when we blitzed.  Chargers oline sucks and also had 2 starters out.

That is another area that I hadn't even really thought about yet.

Not much pressure against a team without a starting center, that is alarming.

[TJHoushmandzadeh's Shiny Shoes]

(09-13-2020, 11:14 PM)Au165 Wrote: Way down should be the gunners on punt team, twice they screwed up downing the ball inside the 5.

Missing my man Stanley Morgan.

(09-14-2020, 01:49 AM)Murdock2420 Wrote: That is another area that I hadn't even really thought about yet.

Not much pressure against a team without a starting center, that is alarming.

Yeah, but we were missing our man who would have exploited it.

[*pally*]

good- the defense didn't seem lost in space like they did last year
they were able to get off the field on 3rd down
WJIII has almost equaled in one game his 2019 pass defended total
Zac has learned the team has TEs

bad- OL though they did perform better in the 2nd half and looked better with Price in there
DL struggled without Reader...granted that may not have been such a great deal if Geno had been in there
missed FG....even the best miss but always sucks when they do

Mixed-the LBs played better than expected. Josh Bynes is going to be a good anchor
receivers- Ross, Ross, Ross...can not have misses like those 2 he had

in his own category
Joe Burrow- had some struggles including timing with receivers that probably would have been ironed out with an actual preseason. Made some glaring errors like overthrows, not checking down to open receivers, and oh that interception. However, he showed poise throughout the game. He was able to read the defense well enough to audible on a play that led to a touchdown He never gave up and put his team in position to win. He has the respect of his teammates. Was he the immediate lifesaver, so many wanted...no. Will he be the gamechanger...yes

It is hard to be patient again but this is still a building team. By midseason, some of these growing pains will have been worked through. This is a team with a lot of new pieces that really got screwed by the lack of a preseason. In some ways, for game 1, they played both better as expected and how we should have anticipated

[Au165]

Just watched it back and Drew Sample need a big kudos. He dominated Bosa in the run game a few times, and took him one on one twice in pass game with wins on both. I'd really like to see more Drew Sample on the field after watching that one back.

[Nicomo Cosca]

(09-14-2020, 11:00 AM)Au165 Wrote: Just watched it back and Drew Sample need a big kudos. He dominated Bosa in the run game a few times, and took him one on one twice in pass game with wins on both. I'd really like to see more Drew Sample on the field after watching that one back.

Good to hear.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

It's essentially preseason game one with a rookie QB who had no OTAs or rookie camp. It was always gonna be ugly. It was good to see LBs flying all over the field for a change. The oline is the glaring issue it has been for a while. We should have won, but...well, you know. All in all, it was a meh game. Not horrible all things considered, not too good either.

[kalibengal]

(09-13-2020, 10:56 PM)jj22 Wrote: The Good -
The LB's. Pratt, Bynes, and the Rookies. All showed they belonged and I may have been wrong about Bynes.
The Secondary. Bates looks good, WJII showed up, Phillips "battled", Bell was active, and Alexander looked like he belongs.
Gio usage. It didn't feel so forced.
Injuries. Nothing major it sounded like.
Short yardage Defense. How many 3rd and 4th's and short did they stop. 3, 4.

The Bad-
Oline play. It's time for Price to take over RG and make a name for himself.
The rest of our Weapons. Boyd, Tate, Higgins? Are we really deep?
Play calling. Taylor's offense doesn't pass the eye test. No identity.
Turnovers. Both turning the ball over, and not being able to create any.

5 up -
Green. Still the best wideout on the team after missing nearly 2 years.
Hopkins. For the block on the TD run alone.
DJ Reader. The Dline looked night and day stouter with him in.
Hubbard. Miss sack was huge, but his play continues to be a bright spot.
Bates. Pay the man.

5 down -
Ross. Nuff said.
Bullock. He did hit from 50, but the miss to tie the game defined his night.
Hart. Too many excuses for his struggles.
Mixon. Costly fumble.
Burrow, wasn't what we all wanted to see in his debut. I think Thursday we will see him play better.

Agree with much of this and wanted to add a few things I observed:
Good:
ADG looked good out there..flying around showing why we drafted him. I think he starts eventually
Bynes may prove to be one the better FA signings ever if he keeps this up...the entire LB unit looks much better and I think he is a big reason  
Bates was awsome and looked like a Probowler out there and loved the aggressiveness on runs 
Jonah, shaky start but seemed to settle in later and I didnt notice him much which is good with OL.
Price, I thought they played better when he came in for XSF
Burrow, rookie QB, running for his life most of 1st half and kept his composure and made some great throws when it mattered. I think we have a good one here.
Phillips: I thought he overall played a solid game and will keep improving
WJ: Played a good game as well and made some plays
Brandon Wilson: showing he got skillz 

Bad:
Hart: does he have compromising pictures of Mike Brown? He is horrible and is going to get Burrow injured or "bungalized" WHY THE F DIDNT THEY make a trade, SIGN A JASON PETERS OR DRAFT ANOTHER OT IN TOP 3 ROUNDS to ensure their prize QB stays clean? Boggles the mind.... 
Randy : thx for reminding us we are still the Bungals until further  notice
ZT: clock management issues..I feel like we are watching Marvin Jr out there
We have no "sizzle" in our pass rush. Looks anemic against a average OL and they continue to ignore specialty players like this in draft and FA. 
Sample: didnt know he was even on field..looking more and more like a wasted high pick
Tate: what happened to him? Was he in there at end? thats his time to shine
 







   

       
 

[TJHoushmandzadeh's Shiny Shoes]

(09-14-2020, 11:50 AM)kalibengal Wrote: Agree with much of this and wanted to add a few things I observed:
Good:
ADG looked good out there..flying around showing why we drafted him. I think he starts eventually
Bynes may prove to be one the better FA signings ever if he keeps this up...the entire LB unit looks much better and I think he is a big reason  
Bates was awsome and looked like a Probowler out there and loved the aggressiveness on runs 
Jonah, shaky start but seemed to settle in later and I didnt notice him much which is good with OL.
Price, I thought they played better when he came in for XSF
Burrow, rookie QB, running for his life most of 1st half and kept his composure and made some great throws when it mattered. I think we have a good one here.
Phillips: I thought he overall played a solid game and will keep improving
WJ: Played a good game as well and made some plays
Brandon Wilson: showing he got skillz 

Bad:
Hart: does he have compromising pictures of Mike Brown? He is horrible and is going to get Burrow injured or "bungalized" WHY THE F DIDNT THEY make a trade, SIGN A JASON PETERS OR DRAFT ANOTHER OT IN TOP 3 ROUNDS to ensure their prize QB stays clean? Boggles the mind.... 
Randy : thx for reminding us we are still the Bungals until further  notice
ZT: clock management issues..I feel like we are watching Marvin Jr out there
We have no "sizzle" in our pass rush. Looks anemic against a average OL and they continue to ignore specialty players like this in draft and FA. 
Sample: didnt know he was even on field..looking more and more like a wasted high pick
Tate: what happened to him? Was he in there at end? thats his time to shine

        

On clock management this is only being criticized because that AJ touchdown pass was overturned otherwise everyone says we got it just right. Even when it was overturned there was still time to kick a gimme FG to take it into overtime. 

I had Sample and Phillips the other way round. Will be interesting to see how they graded out.
Most disappointing receiver was surely Ross. He appears to be too inconsistent to plan around.

[bengaloo]

Considering we have a lot of new faces, no preseason, a rookie QB and very little training camp, I think the team overall played well, except the OL especially Hart.

The defense was solid, and if they had a little help from the O, they would've looked even better.

Its hard to tell about the offense because they couldnt block well enough to give Mixon holes or protect Burrow for more than a second, if that. Hart got chewed up and spit out way to often. The Mixon fumble hurt really bad, but he is not a fumbler and it was a perfect hit to knock the ball out. Just one of those things, but it was very bad timing for sure. The game winning drive was nice to see, and we were robbed with the call. Despite the fact that "technically" it was the right call, they let Mike Williams get away with it all day, and the CB on that play was a very good actor. Good for Burrow to lead us down the field in the first place. He was lighting it up on that drive.

ST was decent outside of the Randy shank/fake cramp.

Everything that happened can be cleaned up easily and I think it will. I just worry about RT most of all. Hart really looked bad out there. I dont think Fred Johnson would do worse at all. Turner has to get those guys playing better. Randy is Randy. He is our kicker. He's never been popular with the fans, and he showed why. Mr anti-clutch.

I expect to see us get better as the year goes on.

[Bengalfan4life27c]

I wouldn't worry about pass rush. Tyrod doesn't take a bunch of sacks

[Au165]

(09-14-2020, 01:59 PM)Bengalfan4life27c Wrote: I wouldn't worry about pass rush. Tyrod doesn't take a bunch of sacks

We actually got solid pressure, there were at least two plays that he was able to scramble back to the line, and instead of being credited a sack, it was a rush of 0 yards. There was obviously the play where Hubbard got stiff-armed deep in the backfield that should have been a sack.

[impactplaya]

Uzomah came up.big.on that last drive

[Aquapod770]

(09-13-2020, 11:52 PM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: Mike Williams did push off a fair amount.

Twitter has the GIFs to prove it.

All worse than Greens "push off" at the end. 

That flag doesn't get thrown 9/10 times. Of course it happens to us on a should-be game winning TD. 

[BleedNOrange]

I only caught part of the game and just went back and watched it. Here are the things that stood out.

Bad:
-Over throw to AJ. (Bengals -7 points.)
-Mixon fumble led to easy 3 points for Chargers. (Chargers +3 points)
-Horrendous kick-off by Bullock setup Chargers starting drive at 44 yard line. This led to the Chargers only TD. (Chargers +7 points)
-Burrow INT and we miss out on 3 points. (Bengals - 3 points)
-And of course, the missed 31 yard chip shot field goal. (Bengals -3 points)
-Prevent defense at the end of the 1st half. and still give up a huge play to Henry. (Chargers +3 points)
-Ross' drops. 1 for a TD. (Bengals -7 points)

You're going to have some of these plays in a game but it is hard to overcome that many give-away points. Note: I did not check to see if we settled for FG's on the miss to AJ or Ross.

Bad (general):
-Bobby Hart. Woof.
-Time management again. I am going to give a little leeway here since it was Burrow's first game without a preseason. However, this has been a trend way too long. We used our last timeout with 6:22 to go in the game. Taylor said he was afraid of a sack with 0:07 to go, that is why he went FG. We don't waste that TO, we get 1 more play and who knows.
-Burrow with no completions over 15 yards (granted the Ross one was not his fault). This may be because of the poor OL play that didn't give him time.
-Taylor 2-15 now.

Good:
-Burrow went to every player after the game to check on them.
-Burrow led them down the field and put them in a position to win/tie it.
-23 yard TD was an audible
-Several short yard stops on defense.
-Defense looked much more athletic all around.

On a side note, the next 10 years of our free agency rest on the cart brought out to Reader. There aint no way we are signing any more players if we lose Waynes, Su'a-filo, and Reader all by the first game. I am hearing it was just cramps.

[Aquapod770]

(09-14-2020, 12:15 PM)TJHoushmandzadeh Wrote: On clock management this is only being criticized because that AJ touchdown pass was overturned otherwise everyone says we got it just right.

Nah. Having zero timeouts with 5+ min left in a 3 point game is horrible clock management even if you do win. 

[Nicomo Cosca]

(09-14-2020, 03:21 PM)Aquapod770 Wrote: Nah. Having zero timeouts with 5+ min left in a 3 point game is horrible clock management even if you do win. 

Burned his last one with 6 minutes left I believe. Horrible.

[Truck_1_0_1_]

(09-14-2020, 03:19 PM)BleedNOrange Wrote: I only caught part of the game and just went back and watched it. Here are the things that stood out.

Bad:
-Over throw to AJ. (Bengals -7 points.)
-Mixon fumble led to easy 3 points for Chargers. (Chargers +3 points)
-Horrendous kick-off by Bullock setup Chargers starting drive at 44 yard line. This led to the Chargers only TD. (Chargers +7 points)
-Burrow fumble and we miss out on 3 points. (Bengals - 3 points)
-And of course, the missed 31 yard chip shot field goal. (Bengals -3 points)
-Prevent defense at the end of the 1st half. and still give up a huge play to Henry. (Chargers +3 points)
-Ross' drops. 1 for a TD. (Bengals -7 points)

You're going to have some of these plays in a game but it is hard to overcome that many give-away points. Note: I did not check to see if we settled for FG's on the miss to AJ or Ross.

Bad (general):
-Bobby Hart. Woof.
-Time management again. I am going to give a little leeway here since it was Burrow's first game without a preseason. However, this has been a trend way too long. We used our last timeout with 6:22 to go in the game. Taylor said he was afraid of a sack with 0:07 to go, that is why he went FG. We don't waste that TO, we get 1 more play and who knows.
-Burrow with no completions over 15 yards (granted the Ross one was not his fault). This may be because of the poor OL play that didn't give him time.
-Taylor 2-15 now.

Good:
-Burrow went to every player after the game to check on them.
-Burrow led them down the field and put them in a position to win/tie it.
-23 yard TD was an audible
-Several short yard stops on defense.
-Defense looked much more athletic all around.

On a side note, the next 10 years of our free agency rest on the cart brought out to Reader. There aint no way we are signing any more players if we lose Waynes, Su'a-filo, and Reader all by the first game. I am hearing it was just cramps.

How did everyone miss Reader coming in for the last series?

(09-14-2020, 03:21 PM)Aquapod770 Wrote: Nah. Having zero timeouts with 5+ min left in a 3 point game is horrible clock management even if you do win. 

The 100% truth to this is that last year, this WASN'T an issue with Zac; we regularly had TOs to spare in almost every game last year.

If we go 3 straight games with this issue, then... but yeah, I'll give him a pass with a rookie QB, learning the ins and outs of the NFL play clock, which is much less-forgiving than the NCAA one.