Tag: Cincinnati Bengals (Page 30 of 47)

      Steelers continue to have issues as Bengals pull off upset

      September 27, 2009 /

      Let this sink in for a second: The defending champions are 1-2.

      The Steelers were a 4th and 10 stop away from being 2-1 when they were up 20-15 with only 36 seconds remaining in Cincinnati on Sunday. But Bengals’ QB Carson Palmer avoided a sack and found Brian Leonard on an 11-yard completion to set Cincinnati up with a 1st and 4 from the Pittsburgh 4-yard line. Two plays later, Palmer found Andre Caldwell on a four-yard touchdown pass to put the Bengals up for good 23-20.

      The theme continues for the Steelers. While they were able to rush for 102 yards, they only managed 3.6 YPC and essentially weren’t that effective. When they were leading 20-9 late in the third quarter, they couldn’t put Cincinnati away because they couldn’t milk the clock.

      Pittsburgh won a Super Bowl last year despite the lack of a running game, but teams can’t consistently win when they can’t run the football. Some are going to look at the stat sheet and think that the Steelers were effective on the ground because they rushed for over 100 yards. But that simply wasn’t the case and it shows because the Bengals were able to score two fourth quarter touchdowns to earn the victory.

      Willie Parker had a decent game, but when it was time for the Steelers to grind out the clock in the second half, he was much less effective. That caused Pittsburgh’s defense to be on the field too long in the fourth and Cincinnati capitalized.

      But let’s give credit where credit is due – the Bengals’ deserved the victory. They came up with a huge play in the third quarter when a miscommunication between Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes led to a Jonathan Joseph 31-yard interception return for a touchdown. They hung around and hung around, waited for its moment to seize a win and then did so.

      What’s amazing is that the Bengals could be 3-0 if it weren’t for Brandon Stokley’s fluke touchdown reception in Week 1. What’s even more amazing is that Cincinnati could be 3-0 and would have wins over the Packers (in Green Bay no less) and the Steelers.

      There’s something about this Bengals team. They have an underrated defense, a healthy Palmer, a rejuvenated Cedric Benson and are finally playing inspired under Marvin Lewis.

      NFL

      Ochocinco does Lambeau leap as Bengals upset Packers

      September 20, 2009 /

      The Bengals’ 31-24 win over the Packers on Sunday is proof that nobody knows what the hell is going on in the NFL. You may have called this upset, but I guarantee you that there was a game on the schedule this week that made you scratch your head.

      Cincinnati scored seven points last week. Green Bay’s defense harassed Jay Cutler for four quarters last Sunday night and made him look like a rookie. So it makes sense that this week that the Bengals would roll into Lambeau Field and put 31 points up on the scoreboard.

      Wait…what?

      Where to begin? Let’s start with the disastrous play of Green Bay’s offensive line. Left tackle Chad Clifton was carted off the field in the first half and the Packers had to bring center Scott Wells into the game. They also slid Jason Spitz to left guard and Daryn Colledge to left tackle, and the changes resulted in Cincinnati racking up six sacks, including five by defensive end Anthony Odom.

      Aaron Rodgers did a good job of adjusting to the pressure and scrambling out of the pocket. But he was always on the run, could never set his feet and his receivers didn’t help him by dropping multiple passes throughout the game. (How does Greg Jennings go an entire game without a catch?) If this team doesn’t get their issues resolved on the offensive line, Rodgers doesn’t stand a chance.

      Of course, Green Bay’s defense doesn’t get off the hook here. Cedric Benson racked up 141 yards on 29 carries, which set up Carson Palmer and the passing game to make some plays. Outside of a Charles Woodson 37-yard interception return for a touchdown, there’s not much good that came out of this game for Dom Capers’ defense, which had played so well against Chicago the week before.

      Somehow, the Packers still had a chance to tie the game with seconds remaining, but a false start penalty (which resulted in a 10-second run off) ended Green Bay’s comeback bid.

      As for the Bengals, if they can generate that kind of pressure every week, they’d be in good shape. But I don’t think Odom is going to rack up five sacks every game, so keeping the expectations low for this team would be wise. Still, this was an impressive upset for a team that was devastated at home last week on Brandon Stokley’s fluke last-second touchdown.

      The quality isn’t great, but here’s video of Chad Ochocinco doing the “Lambeau Leap” after scoring a touchdown late in the third quarter:

      NFL

      Stokley’s circus catch gives Broncos last-second win over Bengals

      September 13, 2009 /

      For 59 minutes and 32 seconds, the Broncos and Bengals played the most boring game of Week 1. Then Cincinnati cornerback Leon Hall forgot that batting the ball straight up in the air is a horrible idea.

      Check out this crazy touchdown by Brandon Stokley to give Denver an improbable 12-7 victory over the Bengals on Sunday:

      At first, I disagreed with the commentator who said that Hall could have intercepted Kyle Orton’s horrid pass. It looked like he jumped at his highest point and while falling backwards, he tried to knock the ball down and instead batted it straight up.

      But upon further review, Hall could have picked off the pass had he positioned his body better when the ball was in the air. Or at the very least, he should have been able to knock the ball down instead of doing his best impression of a volleyball setter by batting the football up.

      Either way, this was a heartbreaking loss for the Bengals. They didn’t play a clean game, but they should have had this win locked up after Cedric Benson scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 38 seconds remaining. Plus, on the play before Stokley’s circus catch, Cincinnati had intercepted Orton but the defender couldn’t stay in bounds while he was coming down with the football. The Bengals had several opportunities to start the 2009 season 1-0 but they fell victim to a fluke play.

      It was a cheap win, but Josh McDaniels will take it after all the crap he went through (some of it he created himself) this summer with Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall.

      NFL, Video

      Chris Henry, a sleeper no longer

      September 4, 2009 /

      Over the course of his tumultuous four-year career, Chris Henry has caught a TD every 5.6 passes. That’s a better ratio than Randy Moss (6.2), Terrell Owens (6.8) and Jerry Rice (7.3), in his 49er days. There has never been any doubt that the lanky 6’4″ Henry had all the tools to be a star, but he just couldn’t stay out of trouble.

      According to ESPN, it was the NFL’s disciplinary policy that helped Henry see the light. He should know — he has been suspended for 14 games over the last three seasons.

      “Yeah, it helped me,” Henry said, according to USA Today. “It helped me focus up, and it made me realize that if I continually wanted to play, I had to do right and be a professional.”

      Since the Bengals drafted him in 2005 out of West Virginia, he’s faced charges of marijuana possession, carrying a concealed weapon, drunken driving, providing alcohol to minors and assault.

      Through four preseason games, Henry has 14 catches for 224 yards and four TD. Even though he’s playing limited snaps, if he keeps that pace up, he’s on his way to a 56-catch, 896-yard, 16-TD season. Obviously, it’s tough to expect him to catch that many touchdowns, but double digits are certainly attainable given his TD-to-catch ratio. The receptions and yards are doable, and a 56-896-10 season would result in Top 20 fantasy numbers.

      There are a few things standing in Henry’s way: 1) Chad Ochocinco, who is hell bent on having a bounce-back year, 2) Laveranues Coles, who still has enough ability to earn snaps by catching all the underneath stuff, and 3) Henry’s own demons, who may resurface at any time.

      Still, with the departure of T.J. Houshmandzadeh and the (possible) decline of Ochocinco, the Bengals’ WR pecking order is as fluid now as it’s ever been, and if the immensely talented Henry has truly turned over a new leaf, he has the chance to break out in a big way.

      From a fantasy perspective, it’s hard not to like this guy in the late-middle rounds. In my drafts, it seems like he’s the best WR on the board as early as the 8th or 9th in some cases, but owners can usually wait a bit longer to pull the trigger.

      But don’t wait too long.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Bengals’ first round pick Andre Smith breaks foot

      September 1, 2009 /

      Andre Smith clearly wasn’t in football shape when he signed his $42 million deal, because the first round pick fractured his foot in practice on Tuesday just 48 hours after signing his rookie contract.

      From Bengals.com:

      In a statement released through the Bengals public relations department, Lewis said, “Andre suffered a small fracture in his left foot during a non-contact drill. Our medical staff tells me the injury will not require surgery. It’s too soon to closely predict how long it will be before he can return to practice. But it looks like he’s going to miss a few weeks.”

      “A few weeks” could mean anything. Cornerbacks David Jones and Morgan Trent suffered foot fractures during this preseason and their rehab took about five weeks. But Smith’s may not be as long because both Jones and Trent had surgery.

      This is yet another bump in the road for a player who was suspended for the 2009 Sugar Bowl, showed up to the NFL combine out of shape and then held out for the entire length of the Bengals’ training camp.

      Cincinnati’s offensive line had question marks before Smith’s injury, but the team was hoping that the sixth overall pick would eventually start at right tackle this season and anchor the line. That could still happen at some point, but there’s no doubt that Smith’s rookie season is off to a rough start.

      NFL

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