This was a good game

[Bengalzona]

(12-29-2015, 02:18 AM)Nebuchadnezzar Wrote: I know, I know, the Bengals blew it...play calling...offense stunk...defense stunk...special teams stunk and whatever else stunk.

Anyway, the Bengals went conservative in the second half because of that thin air, the Offense was on the field so much in the first half, they wore themselves out, lol. They had to go conservative but in a game like this, with as much on the line as was on the line, you have to ask your players to step up, be big boys and dig deep to get this win.

After watching tonight, I think the Bengals can get that ever elusive first playoff win with McCarron. After that, let's hope Dalton is back and he can carry this team to the AFC Championship game and beyond.

I do believe if Dalton didn't get hurt against Pittsburgh, the Bengals would have won that game and I believe if Dalton was playing in this game, the Bengals would have won easily...without a doubt I believe that.

This is the Bengals year my fellow Bengals Fans...

WHO-DEY!!!

It was a good game. It was a defensive duel and we came out on the short end in overtime.

It is hard to play in Denver because of the altitude change. And their team and gameplan is designed to take advantage of that. And despite that, we took them to overtime.

[bengal kitten uk]

Can we please put this "AJM struggled with the zone defense" nonsense to bed?

Check our Drive Chart for the second half. Denver adjusted in the second half - yes - but the main adjustment they made was to sell out to stop the run. By getting stuffed continually on the ground, AJM was put into obvious passing situations where the pass rush - not the deep zone itself - made it very difficult for AJM to pick up the required yardage.

In fact, once we realised we'd need to pass to win the game AJM actually did very well. If not for AJ Green stopping on one route and dropping another well thrown deep ball, we'd have won behind the arm of AJM.

[bengal kitten uk]

(12-29-2015, 11:41 AM)CincyProduct Wrote: ...I think he played well and had to adjust to what he was seeing the second  half. That third quarter was rough for him. 

You do realise that he was only asked to throw three times on the 3rd Quarter and he completed 2 of those passes?  We also ran 8 times for just 16 yards.  How does that equate to the QB having a rough quarter?

Honestly, I wonder if people actually watch the games or just want to blame the players they don't like.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(12-29-2015, 11:41 AM)CincyProduct Wrote: Then your counter is broken. And I think he played well and had to adjust to what he was seeing the second  half. That third quarter was rough for him. But I was impressed, just because I responded to bfines response does not mean I did not like mccarons performance. Our offense just needed a little more but he had issues reading what he saw. Don't worry he will get better.

This.  He is green people.  No one is blaming him, but the fact remains that he is seeing some things for the first time out there.  The learning curve is going to be steep, and has to be learned in a very short time to boot....on the fly if you will.  The Broncos adjusted at the half, and we had no more single coverage on AJ Green.  I was surprised it took them that long to fix that issue.  AJ played as well as you could ask from a backup with such limited experience.  That said, he is not going to see things that a seasoned guy is going to see out there.  That includes when to audible and to what, the no huddle will be limited, (if ran at all), and he's going to be slower to read and react.  These are all common sense football. 

So, it's not his fault, but it's not all on the coaches either....it's the situation that we're in with an inexperienced backup.  He is doing a pretty damn good job, but we can't run, and he is limited in knowledge/experience.

[Bengalzona]

AJM did okay. He is a young QB and faced a lot of pressure from one of the best defenses in their lair. He needed them to give a little and they didn't. No problem. I liked his composure. He is not as good as Andy right now, but he has potential a couple of years down the line. And he is a good bandaid for right now.

It would have been good if the run game could have been more consistent and productive to support him. That is what we need right now going forward. We need better run blocking IMO.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(12-29-2015, 01:06 PM)Bengalzona Wrote: AJM did okay. He is a young QB and faced a lot of pressure from one of the best defenses in their lair. He needed them to give a little and they didn't. No problem. I liked his composure. He is not as good as Andy right now, but he has potential a couple of years down the line. And he is a good bandaid for right now.

It would have been good if the run game could have been more consistent and productive to support him. That is what we need right now going forward. We need better run blocking IMO.

Absolutely all of this.  As to the bolded, maybe those of us clamoring for a true FB aren't looking so silly nowadays.....

[CincyProduct]

(12-29-2015, 12:44 PM)bengal kitten uk Wrote: You do realise that he was only asked to throw three times on the 3rd Quarter and he completed 2 of those passes?  We also ran 8 times for just 16 yards.  How does that equate to the QB having a rough quarter?

Honestly, I wonder if people actually watch the games or just want to blame the players they don't like.

Completed two dump offs, yeah he lit it up..... My point was he was reading the defense we adjusted and he made some good throws and some not so good throws. But we still had a shot to win. Why are you defending him like I said he sucks?

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(12-29-2015, 02:18 AM)Nebuchadnezzar Wrote: I know, I know, the Bengals blew it...play calling...offense stunk...defense stunk...special teams stunk and whatever else stunk.

Anyway, the Bengals went conservative in the second half because of that thin air, the Offense was on the field so much in the first half, they wore themselves out, lol. They had to go conservative but in a game like this, with as much on the line as was on the line, you have to ask your players to step up, be big boys and dig deep to get this win.

After watching tonight, I think the Bengals can get that ever elusive first playoff win with McCarron. After that, let's hope Dalton is back and he can carry this team to the AFC Championship game and beyond.

I do believe if Dalton didn't get hurt against Pittsburgh, the Bengals would have won that game and I believe if Dalton was playing in this game, the Bengals would have won easily...without a doubt I believe that.

This is the Bengals year my fellow Bengals Fans...

WHO-DEY!!!

Thanks bud, you made me feel good about life.

[Beaker]

I said this in another thread, but I do think the Hewitt injury in the first half was a bigger factor than people are acknowledging. With Hewitt, Hill was getting 4 yards a pop. In the second half, without Hewitt, and Uzomah trying to lead block, the running game was much less effective.

[Benton]

(12-29-2015, 06:11 AM)wolfkaosaun Wrote: McCarron had multiple mistakes. He really didn't make that many good throws. He looked like a backup. Someone who isn't going to turn the ball over. But also someone who isn't going to win you games.

He didn't get the play late every time. Numerous times he would leave the pocket when he should have stepped up and made a play. But he left the pocket and showed happy feet.

He needed to do presnap reads. He needed to read the defense. When it's one on one you see where your receiver is and give him a chance. Zone? McCarron couldn't tell where he should go with the ball.

Who should the blame be put on exactly? The run game put up over 100 yards on a team that allows 79 yards per game. The receivers made amazing tip toe sideline catches. The defense straight up wrecked havoc on that offensive line.

So where does the blame go? To Hue? Sorry he didn't trust a young QB to air it out against the best defense in the NFL who was showing all game he didn't know how to read zone defense DURING a play.

McCarron deserves blame. All of it? No. But the team put him in a position to win. And he didn't come through.

Hewitt was out whenever we went and scored our next TD and when we went to kick field goals. It limits your play calling, sure. But it doesn't decimate your offensive game plan to lose a fullback.

And he didn't get the play late every time. You saw people line up and they waited on snaps. McCarron didn't read the defense well. He waited to hike the ball numerous times.

Face it. McCarron is a solid backup and that's it.

I thought McCarron did really well, especially considering two things.

One, I don't think they were letting him change plays all that much. There were a few times he "audibled" but I think it was by design. I don't think they were letting him change plays Hue was calling it, which is a huge handicap. It doesn't matter what he read, if he was having to go with a handoff or a bomb, that's forcing him to try a play that may or may not have any chance of success depending on what the defense is playing.

Two, no matter what play, the Broncos pushed our line around all night. 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

I definitely didn't like the outcome but there is no denying it was a very entertaining game.

This game wouldn't have been all that great if Dalton was playing though...it would have been a blowout in the Bengals favor. Dalton would have shredded that defense, we all know it, everyone knows it.

When Dalton comes back, this team will be unstoppable. The only thing I worry about is how long it will take Dalton to become his normal self when he comes back.