Tag: Cincinnati Bengals (Page 16 of 47)

      Bengals defense an absolute mess against Patriots

      September 12, 2010 /
      FOXBORO, MA - SEPTEMBER 12: Quarterback Tom Brady of the New England Patriots throws a pass during a the NFL season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals at Gillette Stadium on September 12, 2010 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

      I know Tom Brady and the Patriots looked great Sunday in their 38-24 victory over the Bengals, but let’s hold off on the 2007 comparisons for right now. I did one “#Patriots” search on Twitter following the game and I would have had to use a calculator to count the number of times I saw a reference to New England’s ’07 season.

      Uh, the regular season that is. No fan wants to bring up how that season ended for the Pats.

      Before we crown the Patriots 2010 AFC Super Bowl representatives, let’s be realistic. The Cincinnati defense they faced today was downright atrocious.

      As expected, the Bengals had zero pass rush and that’s an area that will be a problem for them all season unless someone steps up. Their front four was swallowed whole by New England’s offensive line and didn’t impact the game whatsoever.

      Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s playcalling was also uninspiring. He was way too predictable when drumming up blitzes, which allowed Tom Brady to recognize where the pressure was coming from and either check off to another player or complete crossing patterns over the middle.

      The end result was the Bengals getting gashed for 376 total yards, including 258 passing and 118 rushing. Believe it or not, Cincinnati’s offense bettered those numbers (428 total, 341 passing, 87 rushing), but it didn’t matter once the Pats took a 31-3 lead early in the third quarter and was on cruise control from there on out.

      For a team that is expected to compete for a division crown this year, this was a highly unimpressive start for the Bengals.

      External Sports, NFL

      Will the safety position hold the Bengals back in 2010?

      August 30, 2010 /
      PITTSBURGH - NOVEMBER 15: Chris Crocker #42 and Chinedum Ndukwe #41 of the Cincinnati Bengals celebrate in the bench area en route to an 18-12 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers during their game at Heinz Field on November 15, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Bengals defeated the Steelers 18-12. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

      Merry preseason, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be breaking down the Bengals’ safeties and why they could become a liability for the team this season.

      Special teams is arguably the Bengals’ biggest weakness heading into the 2010 season, but I’ve avoided talking about kickers to this point and I’m not going to start now.

      Pass protection, pass rush and quite frankly, even Carson Palmer are question marks for Cincinnati heading into the season. But the safety position may be the biggest concern the Bengals have in 2010.

      Granted, this isn’t a huge issue because starters Roy Williams and Chris Crocker have loads of experience and Crocker has played very well in Cincinnati despite lackluster tenures in Cleveland and Atlanta earlier in his career. But both of these players have glaring weaknesses that can be exposed by opponents.

      We’ll start with Williams, because his weakness is more widely known. The man is a force against the run but couldn’t cover his bed in new sheets. He has also played in just seven games the past two seasons because of nagging injuries. His backup, 25-year-old Chinedum Ndukwe, has failed to impress in his first couple of years despite having the opportunity to see live action when Williams was out.

      As previously noted, Crocker has been a good Bengal over the years but he was assisted off the field in the first quarter of the Hall of Fame game earlier this month with a right ankle injury. He dealt with ankle issues late in the year in 2009 and had arthroscopic surgery on one of them in February so obviously that’s a concern.

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      External Sports, NFL

      What would be the point of the Bengals releasing Antonio Bryant now?

      August 26, 2010 /
      Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Antonio Bryant watches play against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field, September 27, 2004 in Landover, Maryland. The Cowboys defeated the Redskins 21 to 18. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

      A report by Newsday’s Bob Glauber has me a little confused.

      According to Glauber (or at least Newsday’s headline), the Bengals are “ready to release Antonio Bryant.” Glauber writes that there is “plenty of speculation” that the Bengals are ready to cut bait on Bryant, who has been limited to just one training camp practice because of knee problems.

      The idea makes sense if Bryant was playing on a cheap one-year deal, but he’s not. He signed a four-year, $28 million contract in March, which included $8.25 million in guaranteed money. They’ve already paid him $7 million thus far, so why wouldn’t they see if Bryant’s knee could hold up at the start of the season? It’s not like they need the roster space at the moment, seeing as how they only need to cut five more players by August 31 to meet the NFL’s roster guidelines.

      The only way this makes sense is if the Bengals were convinced that Bryant wouldn’t be healthy enough to play this season. But even then, they could place him on IR, use the roster spot for a healthy receiver and then hope Bryant is healthy heading into next year. I don’t see how coming to terms on an injury settlement helps the Bengals at this moment, unless Bryant is walking around Cincinnati tipping over garbage cans and punching babies and the team just wants to get rid of him.

      Considering he worked out on Wednesday, it would make sense for the Bengals to take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to Bryant’s health. There’s no reason to eat $7 million and not at least see if he will be healthy enough to suit up at some point this season.

      External Sports, NFL

      Report: Cedric Benson will not be suspended by NFL

      July 30, 2010 /
      CINCINNATI - JANUARY 9: Cedric Benson #32 of the Cincinnati Bengals runs the ball alongside David Harris #52 of the New York Jets in the third quarter during the 2010 AFC wild-card playoff game at Paul Brown Stadium on January 9, 2010 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

      Roger Goodell is apparently getting soft in his old(er) age.

      Like Titans’ quarterback Vince Young, it appears as though Cedric Benson will escape punishment stemming from an incident that occurred at an Austin bar late last month in which witnesses claim he punched an employee. According to Adam Schefter via his Twitter page, Goodell will not suspend the Bengals’ running back.

      It’ll be interesting to see whether or not the Bengals sign Benson to a contract extension now that he’s in the clear. He was angling for a new deal before the news about his bar altercation broke, so maybe the team will feel more confident giving him an extension. That said, nobody could blame Cincy if it wanted to waited until Benson stayed out of trouble the rest of the year.

      As expected, Young wasn’t suspended either after he punched a man in the face at a strip club last month. It was the first time Young had gotten into any off-field trouble, so it was expected that Goodell would go easy on him being a first-time offender. The reports out of Tennessee have been mostly positive about VY this summer, so it appears as though the strip club incident was only a small roadblock for the 27-year-old QB.

      External Sports, NFL

      The Bengals, T.O. and Antonio Bryant’s knee

      July 27, 2010 /
      EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 18: Terrell Owens #81 of the Buffalo Bills stands on the sideline during the game against the New York Jets on October 18, 2009 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

      The Bengals signed Terrell Owens to a one-year, $2 million contract on Tuesday according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. In other news, Marvin Lewis also became the spokesperson for Excedrin Migraine.

      I like the signing. Actually to be more specific, I like the fit. T.O. could have been toxic to Sam Bradford or Mark Sanchez’s development had the Rams or Jets (two teams that had shown interest in the receiver over the last couple of days) signed him. But in Cincinnati he’ll play for a veteran quarterback in Carson Palmer who won’t take his guff and with Pacman Jones, Matt Jones and Tank Johnson already on the roster, there’s no way Owens could pollute the Bengals’ locker room more than it has been over the last couple of years.

      But the biggest issue stemming from this signing is what it means to Antonio Bryant. Obviously the knee injury that slowed him in spring practices is still a major concern or else they wouldn’t have signed T.O. Think about it, if they were seriously interested in Owens then why didn’t they sign him before now? What has changed since March (or April, or June, or the first 26 days in July) other than Bryant’s injury worsening?

      The other issue is that the Bengals signed Bryant to a four-year, $28 million contract despite there being concerns about his health. He underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee last August and it continued to bother him throughout the season. Yet Cincinnati still gave him a multi-year deal and he’s likely to slide to No. 3 on their depth chart with the signing of Owens.

      Considering the Bengals will pound the ball on the ground again this year, they should be fine with Chad Ochocinco, T.O. and a hobbled Bryant in the passing game. (I’m also high on rookie Jordan Shipley, who was nothing short of outstanding as Colt McCoy’s top target at Texas.) But the signing of Owens raises major questions about why the Bengals decided to pay Bryant $7 million a year without being more cautious about his knee injury.

      External Sports, NFL

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