POLL SUN 11/12 1:00 PM EST Texans @ Cincy

[DanBengalfan]

MrsChaney will be there. We better win.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I'll keep going with by a little...LOL

Stroud has really showed out, but I'm thankful his big time game was yesterday, and hopefully means a crash back to reality kind of day...I would expect Lou to work on confusing him, and making him hold onto the ball or force bad passes with the mixed coverages. We'll see.

I know nothing about Hou's defense, but as long as Burrow is healthy...the offense has been on high gear. A huge amount of credit has to go to the OL...4 of the 5 positions are really playing very well...LT, C, RG, RT...Williams to me is the big time reason...him playing RT at a high level pushes the OL from average, or just below (thanks Volson)...to above average overall as they have 4 of 5 guys playing very well.

 

[jbuck]

I like our chances next week. probably a bad sign

 

[jbuck]

MrsChaney will be there. We better win.

she's' on an NFL espn board if you want to catch her act

 

[cincygrad]

Two weeks ago, I told a friend that we would beat SF and Buffalo and then lose to the Texans because we just can't help ourselves when it comes to that stupid team. And now we get them.... Big time trap game here. Coming off two big wins, one on SNF and facing a huge game in Baltimore on Thursday night. We need to jump on them early and hope that Lou can throw a few things at Stroud that will slow him down a little.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Two weeks ago, I told a friend that we would beat SF and Buffalo and then lose to the Texans because we just can't help ourselves when it comes to that stupid team. And now we get them.... Big time trap game here. Coming off two big wins, one on SNF and facing a huge game in Baltimore on Thursday night. We need to jump on them early and hope that Lou can throw a few things at Stroud that will slow him down a little.

I actually like that Stroud had his big breakout game leading into this one. Usually (not always) when a young guy like this has a monster game, there tends to be a bit of a step backwards next game as the biggest thing that young players contend with is consistency.

Add in Lou's ability to adjust, and hopefully an offense that can put pressure on the Texans to play keep up, and that plays right into how the Bengals defense is set up.

Incredible stat I saw last night:

Bengals are 21-2 when scoring 1st over the past 3 seasons.

Bengals are 18-0 when leading after 3 qtrs.

I'd say these stats are likely because the 1st means the offense is clicking. In conjunction with the 2nd stat line, it means that the defense is getting to do what it does best - mix and match coverages as Lou plays Chess while others play Checkers...and because this team is built to get after the QB and cause havoc/confusion.

 

[cincygrad]

I actually like that Stroud had his big breakout game leading into this one. Usually (not always) when a young guy like this has a monster game, there tends to be a bit of a step backwards next game as the biggest thing that young players contend with is consistency.

Add in Lou's ability to adjust, and hopefully an offense that can put pressure on the Texans to play keep up, and that plays right into how the Bengals defense is set up.

Incredible stat I saw last night:

Bengals are 21-2 when scoring 1st over the past 3 seasons.

Bengals are 18-0 when leading after 3 qtrs.

I'd say these stats are likely because the 1st means the offense is clicking. In conjunction with the 2nd stat line, it means that the defense is getting to do what it does best - mix and match coverages as Lou plays Chess while others play Checkers...and because this team is built to get after the QB and cause havoc/confusion.

As much as Taylor drives us insane with some of his play-calling and short-yardage decisions, his Bengals tend to play very good situational football. It's one of the things that made last year's AFCCG ending so tough to swallow.... Allowing that punt return (should have been a penalty) and then roughing Mahomes (appropriately called) were uncharacteristic of the Bengals late game performance. The D is always money in the 4th and the offense has contributed multiple times to running out the clock - Including last night. I loved that Burrow threw that long pass to Boyd on the last drive. That was basically a dagger.

 

[jbuck]

what was that 4th and 5...no FG, no punt, run....or whatever......I think it would have been a 55 yrd attempt. I did like the 'dagger' call.

 

[Cincyfan78]

what was that 4th and 5...no FG, no punt, run....or whatever......I think it would have been a 55 yrd attempt. I did like the 'dagger' call.

I think you mean the check-down that went to Sample for 2 yards when they needed 5....

On that one the rush got there a bit sooner than the play needed. Looks like they ran the same (or similar) play from when Sample scored...had him blocking, but then releasing late in hopes that the defense would lose track of him. He got out there, but because the rush hit home sooner than they were ready for, Sample couldn't get deep enough to get to the marker.

I don't hate the call...but, I think too many coaches screw up when going for it on 4th down by not setting themselves up better on 3rd down. If you are in 4 down territory, your 3rd down call should be a play that works to get as much yardage as you need to get a 1st down, of course, but shouldn't be a "shot" kind of play because if it misses, and you are going for it on 4th, you didn't help yourself at all.

Even if they had run the ball on 3rd down and picked up 2...that makes it 4th and 3, and changes the offensive approach drastically, IMO.

But that isn't a Bengals issue, that seems to be coaching throughout...not looking ahead 1-2-3 plays and getting too locked in on just 1 play at a time. Again, you want to pick up the 3rd down, of course, but there has to be some balance with knowing you are going to go for it on 4th...set yourself up to give your offense options.

 

[jbuck]

I can't believe they went out and threw to all the TEs. maybe irv jr. will turn into something after all.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I can't believe they went out and threw to all the TEs. maybe irv jr. will turn into something after all.

The Hudson effect...lol

 

[CrashDavisSports]

I think you mean the check-down that went to Sample for 2 yards when they needed 5....

On that one the rush got there a bit sooner than the play needed. Looks like they ran the same (or similar) play from when Sample scored...had him blocking, but then releasing late in hopes that the defense would lose track of him. He got out there, but because the rush hit home sooner than they were ready for, Sample couldn't get deep enough to get to the marker.

I don't hate the call...but, I think too many coaches screw up when going for it on 4th down by not setting themselves up better on 3rd down. If you are in 4 down territory, your 3rd down call should be a play that works to get as much yardage as you need to get a 1st down, of course, but shouldn't be a "shot" kind of play because if it misses, and you are going for it on 4th, you didn't help yourself at all.

Even if they had run the ball on 3rd down and picked up 2...that makes it 4th and 3, and changes the offensive approach drastically, IMO.

But that isn't a Bengals issue, that seems to be coaching throughout...not looking ahead 1-2-3 plays and getting too locked in on just 1 play at a time. Again, you want to pick up the 3rd down, of course, but there has to be some balance with knowing you are going to go for it on 4th...set yourself up to give your offense options.

The part I hate is when it was 1st and Goal and they decide to throw two incompletions to Chase and Higgins before having Mixon run it on 3rd from the 4 and he got in. I am like...at least run it on 1st down, try to impose your will, make it a 50/50 call on second depending what happened on 1st, and third if you are still at the 4, then pass it. I think we need to stop being quite so cute at the goal line when it is 1st down.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

I can't believe they went out and threw to all the TEs. maybe irv jr. will turn into something after all.

Maybe. They chose to take Chase out of the game plan altogether, so they get bit by everyone else. Once they saw Burrow was happy and successful going elsewhere, they tried to re-adjust but found out that there are just too many damn weapons on the field when Burrow is the one delivering the ball.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

The Hudson effect...lol

Does he not remind you of Hurst with the way he is energetic, ready to celebrate, excited for contributing, and making critical catches on 3rd down and trying to get that extra yard? I don't think he is quite as good as Hurst, I think he is a touch slower, but I think he is a solid TE that you can count on, and he is on the roster and affordable. I think we need to use him more, been saying it since he went on the practice squad at beginning of the year, at least to my buddies I hang out with.

 

[cincygrad]

Okay, if we're going to talk about stupid play calls....We remain the only team I know that feels the need to run QB sneaks on 2nd down rather than using the down for a potential big play. There is no reason for it. The stupidity of it is only made worse by the fact that Burrow isn't really all that good at QB sneaks. And he gets hurt on them. Please stop!

 

[CrashDavisSports]

Okay, if we're going to talk about stupid play calls....We remain the only team I know that feels the need to run QB sneaks on 2nd down rather than using the down for a potential big play. There is no reason for it. The stupidity of it is only made worse by the fact that Burrow isn't really all that good at QB sneaks. And he gets hurt on them. Please stop!

Okay, I guess I am going to have to inquire more here. What makes Burrow bad at QB sneaks? The fact the other night that the defensive lineman came over the top, grabbed his crotch and picked him up and threw him down by his vanilla hammer?

 

[Cincyfan78]

Okay, if we're going to talk about stupid play calls....We remain the only team I know that feels the need to run QB sneaks on 2nd down rather than using the down for a potential big play. There is no reason for it. The stupidity of it is only made worse by the fact that Burrow isn't really all that good at QB sneaks. And he gets hurt on them. Please stop!

I believe the majority of these are audibles by Burrow because he sees the middle of the field wide open.

I'm not going to disagree about the concern of him running, but those plays have been a staple of his game since forever, and help the offense keep the defense honest...

 

[Cincyfan78]

Does he not remind you of Hurst with the way he is energetic, ready to celebrate, excited for contributing, and making critical catches on 3rd down and trying to get that extra yard? I don't think he is quite as good as Hurst, I think he is a touch slower, but I think he is a solid TE that you can count on, and he is on the roster and affordable. I think we need to use him more, been saying it since he went on the practice squad at beginning of the year, at least to my buddies I hang out with.

He does. At 28 he's not a long-term guy, but I think he's a guy that if you could get cheap for 1-2 years, I'd sign him and as a backup; you could do a lot worse.

Biggest factor for me is - Burrow seems to really trust him.

 

[DanBengalfan]

The Bengals love that he can play QB, K, P, WR, and TE

 

[cincygrad]

I believe the majority of these are audibles by Burrow because he sees the middle of the field wide open.

I'm not going to disagree about the concern of him running, but those plays have been a staple of his game since forever, and help the offense keep the defense honest...

I'm not concerned about the scrambling and running down the field. I don't like QB sneaks on 2nd down no matter who you are.....If it is a absolute that you are getting it, why do it on 2nd down? If it's not an absolute that you are picking up a first down with a sneak, than don't do it. It's not worth the potential for injury.