Bengals Passing Attack

[CrashDavisSports]

It might be a minor factor. I dont think the cold bothers the Chiefs. Wind bothers the Chiefs. The one knock on Mahomes is that his mechanics mean that he is only vaguely accurate as a QB and wind can really screw that up. As a Chiefs fan you'll take it because it means he can be vaguely accurate off-platform, under pressure, etc but it means you really dont want anything else messing with the accuracy of the pass.

I'll admit that the Bengals are about a year ahead of where I thought they'd be but I remember watching Burrow play against Mayfield in Burrow's rookie season and I was impressed at how much more talented Burrow looked.

The two units I was most wrong about in the AFC were the Titans defense and the Bengals defense. I thought they were both going to suck and they've both held up all year. That said, they are both going to get seriously tested from here on out so the Cinci/Tenn matchup is really going to come down to which defense gets exposed.

When you have a mega-talented QB like Mahomes, nothing is too big. However, you are right, wind plays a major factor in accuracy, because you can't account for wind on a split second decision to throw a ball to a WR who is covered pretty well. You let the natural reaction and accuracy take over and instinct says throw the ball here. Well, throwing the ball here means 10 yards downfield, 25 yards to the sideline (what is that distance as the long edge of a right angle 35 to 40 yards [3-4-5]. Which way is the wind blowing, how close is the DB, what situation in the game, what kind of pressure, etc. That all plays a factor on a great QB.

I am not saying Mac Jones is a great QB yet, he looks very promising, but there is a reason he only threw the ball 3 times in that game against Buffalo. With that wind affect in Buffalo, it and the Bills Mafia make that a tough environment. I am just saying the Chiefs have to be happy this is a home game and not in Buffalo.

If Cincy gets lucky enough to advance, neither destaination in the Championship game is going to be desirable. Both those stadiums and their fans are rowdy and really back their team. Neither location will have perfect throwing weather either. So a young QB getting a taste of those elements in hostile environments doesn't favor Cincinnati in the next round if they can make it.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

There is no doubt. I would like to think of all t he league inconsistencies as "parity". This league is a lot harder to win in than any other league. The worst team in football has a chance to overcome their shortcomings from one year to the next. Players get healthy, FA boosts rosters, draft improves depth and youth. There is no league like the NFL. Where a team like the 49ers and Bengals can go from one of the worst to feared in a single season (when the 49ers took Bosa #2 overall and then went to the Superbowl - Bengals took Chase #5 and now playing in the divisional round of the playoffs).

Even the Packers, as consistently as they won this year, it was not without struggles. They almost let Cincy beat them earlier in the year because their kicker couldn't make a FG or extra point to save his life, plus other games in there as well. Green Bay may have won a lot of games, but in several of those games, they were matched and the game could have gone either way. They just had Rodgers to lean on to get them that one extra play to put them in position to win.

You are right, Cincinnati has been extremely inconsistent. But they are a very young team, with a young coach and they take a lot of risks to try and get over that hump. Now, a lot of those risks have panned out, but they are still feeling their way through this which is encouraging that they have not played their best football yet. I think twice this year, the Bengals offense scored on every single possession during a game minus the kneel down like the Bills. Granted, not every one of those drives were TD's, many ended in FG's, but it is a game without punting or turnovers.

The Titans are a good team and they are built to take out high powered offenses like ours. They beat the Chiefs, they beat the Bills, and they have the talent and coaching to beat the Bengals. No one is taking the Titans lightly in Cincinnati, but I think the city/fans are excited and confident in our leaders to go out and put this team in a position to advance. You never know. If it ends this weekend, I will still say I am proud of my team for accomplishing what no one else thought they could do this early.

Well said @CrashDavisSports and I agree on the youth part. They really are way ahead of schedule and playing a little with "house money". But it's good to see them get over the play-off hump amd I will be cheering for them as well. I do think they need to improve the red zone offense though. Can't be settling for FGs vs the big boys in the conference, imo. Anyway, wishing you well and good luck. I will enjoy watching this team grow and hope you guys get to the promised land with this young group.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

@Clayton , I agree on those defenses in Tennesee and Cinci. They will both be tested mightily this Saturday as both of those units weaknesses are facing the other teams offensive strengths. Titans weak in the passing game, especially the big plays downfield but they will scheme to try and mitigate that. Cinci's offense loaded and the deep passing game is what they kill teams with. Pass rush will be huge on that side.
As for the Bengals, run defense a little suspect.Jacobs hit some big holes on them last week and even though King Henry maybe shaking off rust, the Titans have those other guys that can hit you on the mouth as well.Also, Ryan Tannehill can scramble and get first downs as good as most and their play action can catch teams off guard. The DCs on both sides will have to scheme up their "A" games for sure.

Yes, Cincinnati did open a couple holes for Jacobs in the run game, but it looked to me like we were in over pursuit on trying to rush the QB and didn't hold our lanes because we wanted Jacobs to beat us, not David Carr and that passing game. WE sold out on the pass to limit the explosive plays. Jacobs had a good game, and he broke one for a long gain, but our goal was not on the run game of the Raiders, but the passing game.

Cincinnati had like the 5th ranked rushing defense in the NFL this year. Only one player on our Dline has been sidelined, Ogunjobi. He will be terribly missed, but he was our pass rushing threat on the inside, Reader is our run stopping threat on the inside. I h ave a feeling in this game we will be going with a lot of 4 DL, but 7 in the box with an extra man blitzing on the outside. So you will see 6 guys working to stop the run solely with a little pressure from Hendrickson and the outside blitzing DB (Bell or Hilton). The other four secondary players will probably spend time covering the two WR's and TE.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

Well said @CrashDavisSports and I agree on the youth part. They really are way ahead of schedule and playing a little with "house money". But it's good to see them get over the play-off hump amd I will be cheering for them as well. I do think they need to improve the red zone offense though. Can't be settling for FGs vs the big boys in the conference, imo. Anyway, wishing you well and good luck. I will enjoy watching this team grow and hope you guys get to the promised land with this young group.

You are not incorrect about that. Our red zone offense needs to improve from this point on or we are not advancing. When the field shrinks, we lose the biggest abilities of our playmakers, to create separation. When you can't get separation early and Burrow has to stand behind that offensive line, things break down. While Joe makes our WR's look really good, it is the opposite as well. Our receivers make Joe Burrow look very good as well. Separation is key for our offense. The redzone shrinks that and actually begins playing against them. I know that is the same for a lot of teams. We have to figure it out though.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

You are not incorrect about that. Our red zone offense needs to improve from this point on or we are not advancing. When the field shrinks, we lose the biggest abilities of our playmakers, to create separation. When you can't get separation early and Burrow has to stand behind that offensive line, things break down. While Joe makes our WR's look really good, it is the opposite as well. Our receivers make Joe Burrow look very good as well. Separation is key for our offense. The redzone shrinks that and actually begins playing against them. I know that is the same for a lot of teams. We have to figure it out though.

I think a strong game from Mixon down there might help too that but it will be tough for sure. I don't think the Titans give up much to TEs iirc. And red zone usually seems to favor TEs more than WRs, I think.

 

[Clayton]

Yes, Cincinnati did open a couple holes for Jacobs in the run game, but it looked to me like we were in over pursuit on trying to rush the QB and didn't hold our lanes because we wanted Jacobs to beat us, not David Carr and that passing game. WE sold out on the pass to limit the explosive plays. Jacobs had a good game, and he broke one for a long gain, but our goal was not on the run game of the Raiders, but the passing game.

Cincinnati had like the 5th ranked rushing defense in the NFL this year. Only one player on our Dline has been sidelined, Ogunjobi. He will be terribly missed, but he was our pass rushing threat on the inside, Reader is our run stopping threat on the inside. I h ave a feeling in this game we will be going with a lot of 4 DL, but 7 in the box with an extra man blitzing on the outside. So you will see 6 guys working to stop the run solely with a little pressure from Hendrickson and the outside blitzing DB (Bell or Hilton). The other four secondary players will probably spend time covering the two WR's and TE.

Its hard for me to get a read on the Bengals D. They've had a few games where their dline has taken over from what Ive seen. I think the Vikings game in week 1 was like that. When the Chiefs played the Bengals, Cinci was daring the Chiefs to run and it was there all day. As far as Jacobs is concerned, I think thats a bit different. Jacobs is just a talented player and when he is healthy he can sometimes be a real difference maker. The strategy against the Raiders is generally to let Jacobs and Renfrow get 'theirs' because its usually just small chunk yardage and at some point the Raiders will implode with penalties or their oline will give up a big TFL or something like that. I guess in a way thats also how teams play KC although KCs weakness is more in their WR depth and not their oline depth.

So its hard for me to gauge what is strong or what is weak on the Bengals because they switch it up. As teams should.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

Sacked 9 times, under duress all game, still completes 76% of his passes for 348 yards. When was the last time you heard of a QB having a statistical game like that with 9 sacks? Burrow takes every play one at a time and doesn't let the previous one affect the next. Every play is a chance to score with him regardless of what happened the play before.

Ps.. Evan McPherson might be their best under the radar weapon on offense.

 

[Dude]

Sacked 9 times, under duress all game, still completes 76% of his passes for 348 yards. When was the last time you heard of a QB having a statistical game like that with 9 sacks? Burrow takes every play one at a time and doesn't let the previous one affect the next. Every play is a chance to score with him regardless of what happened the play before.

Ps.. Evan McPherson might be their best under the radar weapon on offense.

Cheers to you guys, playing ball.

 

[fastforward]

Bengals passing attack: 48 drop-backs, 280 net yards at 6.1 yards per play. 0 TDs & 1 turnover.
Context: The running game didn't help much, 18-65 1 TD.

 

[jarntt]

I would like to say one of the biggest 1st round OL busts there is in the last 5 years....but my Vikes with Bradberry will fight you for that title.

Dillard in the mix?

 

[CrashDavisSports]

Bengals passing attack: 48 drop-backs, 280 net yards at 6.1 yards per play. 0 TDs & 1 turnover.
Context: The running game didn't help much, 18-65 1 TD.

Pretty sure that burrow not having any time to throw may have affected that. Still 348 yards passing and 76% completion percentage with that rush.

 

[fastforward]

Pretty sure that burrow not having any time to throw may have affected that. Still 348 yards passing and 76% completion percentage with that rush.

Thread title is thread title.*

*does not apply to to all Eagles, (and Bengals), fans.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

Thread title is thread title.*

*does not apply to to all Eagles, (and Bengals), fans.

So you are basing passing attack solely off TD passes then. I got ya. The rest of it means nothing. Score or it means nothing.

 

[Clayton]

Titans-Bengals definitely wasn't the mismatch Cinci was probably hoping for but the Bengals basically outplayed and outcoached the Titans in every way except the oline so they made up for a catastrophic mismatch.

Bengals also get to play against what might be a banged up Chiefs secondary and weak pass rush. This is the matchup that should make Burrow look good again. One would imagine Reid and Spags will make adjustments, though

 

[Cincyfan78]

Titans-Bengals definitely wasn't the mismatch Cinci was probably hoping for but the Bengals basically outplayed and outcoached the Titans in every way except the oline so they made up for a catastrophic mismatch.

Bengals also get to play against what might be a banged up Chiefs secondary and weak pass rush. This is the matchup that should make Burrow look good again. One would imagine Reid and Spags will make adjustments, though

Tenn had the ability to rush 4 and get great pressure and drop 7. The OL can't hold that long for WR's to get open, or Burrow to find someone. However, only a few teams can do that with their front 4.

Most teams have to blitz, and that means 1-1 for Boyd, Higgins, and of course - Chase. There is a reason Burrow's rating is nearly 30pts higher against pressure - he's got elite pre-snap decision making, and stud WR's. You bring 5+, and someone is 1-1 and Burrow is likely to find them more often than not.

I would expect to see some 4rush, drop 7 with KC - but I don't know if the front 4 can generate enough pressure to force the kind of issues that Tenn was able.

Should be a really good game.

 

[Clayton]

I would expect to see some 4rush, drop 7 with KC - but I don't know if the front 4 can generate enough pressure to force the kind of issues that Tenn was able.

Should be a really good game.

Chiefs only had 2 sacks against the Bills so I can pretty much assure you that KC wont generate the same level of pass rush as Tenn. The problem with the Chiefs pass rushers isnt a lack of skill. Its that if they get upfield then they lose contain.

I think the Rams and Niners could give the Bengals oline all sorts of issues if they get that far but KC/Cin should be a good matchup.

 

[fastforward]

So you are basing passing attack solely off TD passes then. I got ya. The rest of it means nothing. Score or it means nothing.

No. I'm taking "Bengals passing attack" as all parts of the Bengals passing attack - passing, blocking, receiving, yards, points, sacks, effectiveness, etc. You're taking the term as Burrow and "The rest of it means nothing". Maybe you should have called it the Joe Burrow thread. whatever. Burrow is very good. He's not elite, or even great. Maybe a top 10 QB. A league with Mahomes, Allen, Rodgers, Brady, Herbert, and others is tough competition.

Curiously Burrow has the same QBR number as Carson Wentz.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

No. I'm taking "Bengals passing attack" as all parts of the Bengals passing attack - passing, blocking, receiving, yards, points, sacks, effectiveness, etc. You're taking the term as Burrow and "The rest of it means nothing". Maybe you should have called it the Joe Burrow thread. whatever. Burrow is very good. He's not elite, or even great. Maybe a top 10 QB. A league with Mahomes, Allen, Rodgers, Brady, Herbert, and others is tough competition.

Curiously Burrow has the same QBR number as Carson Wentz.

So the QBR for the NFL is obviously based differently than PFF. PFF had Burrow as the #1 QBR in the NFL until Brady overtook him in week 18 because Burrow sat out and Brady had a great week. That made Burrow #2.

Plus, I was not bashing you. I was just verifying your point of view. If you are basing it off all the stuff you are referencing, you would be hard pressed to not include Burrow in the top 10, maybe even top 5 if you are basing it off this year, especially if you remove those couple areas the QB has little to no control over, blocking and sacks.

If you are going to take into account blocking and sacks, you are indeed making Joe Burrow a worse QB. Because you are taking into account stats that the QB has almost no control over in many situations. So if it makes you feel better to take that into account to diminish Joe Burrow, go right ahead. I don't want to upset your perception that makes you comfortable.

 

[cincygrad]

No. I'm taking "Bengals passing attack" as all parts of the Bengals passing attack - passing, blocking, receiving, yards, points, sacks, effectiveness, etc. You're taking the term as Burrow and "The rest of it means nothing". Maybe you should have called it the Joe Burrow thread. whatever. Burrow is very good. He's not elite, or even great. Maybe a top 10 QB. A league with Mahomes, Allen, Rodgers, Brady, Herbert, and others is tough competition.

Curiously Burrow has the same QBR number as Carson Wentz.

QBR sucks as a rating.

 

[fastforward]

I just did a quick "top NFL QB" internet engine search. I didn't have a problem with those 5 names. To me Burrow is somewhere lower with Stafford, Murray, Prescott, Carr, Tannehill, Wilson, and maybe 1 or 2 others. Someone isn't going to be top 10, and that players fan base won't be happy about it. I wouldn't be unhappy with Burrow at #6 or #12, same with Stafford.