Bengals Steelers Week 2 thread

[Cincyfan78]

Good game Bungals. Another gritty AFCN bout that didn't disappoint. We shall meet again in December!

Good luck & stay healthy.

Yep.

Too bad about that call. Could have been an epic ending/finish. A las, not to be.

 

[futballiscool]

When you run for 1.1 yard a rush....what other option is there? If you run, you're basically throwing a play down the drain.

They had close to a 2.5 ypc on limited carries.

This team isn't built to abandon the run in that type of game. It was a rookie mistake by Zampese imo

 

[alf8478]

The left tackle had his arm all the way around (i think it was) Dunlap on the play before the TD

 

[DanBengalfan]

we pretty much expected them to lose this week in Pittsburgh.

on to week 3. let's whoop some ass.

Whatcha gonna do, when Cayenne Peppa, and his hot sauce minions run wild on you?
you know, other than sack him 12 times because our some of our OL is just great.

 

[cincygrad]

The defense did a great job yesterday. With the type of field position they were asked to deal with, it's amazing they didn't give up 24-28 by halftime. A couple of issues in coverage, but otherwise a good day for them.

Dalton was shaky..... But I wonder how much of it has to do with getting sacked a ton last week and dealing with tight ends that suck. LaFell showed a little bit of what made him expendable in New England. Boyd is the real deal. If we can get Eifert back for any extended time the passing game will be fine.

What the hell is wrong with our line?

 

[alf8478]

I thought it was all Bodine's fault

 

[Cincyfan78]

The line certainly needs to step things up in the running game, but blocking is not the only issue.

They are running Hill out of more single-back sets. He is better with a FB in front of him, as he's a power runner. Also, the play calling has Hill making cuts in the backfield (not just because of poor blocking), which he is not suited to do as well as he is to run North/South.

Also, sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the other teams' front 7. Both the Steelers and the Jets have top 10 run defenses. Having to face them in back-to-back weeks to start the season is not ideal for any team that wishes to establish the run.

 

[DanBengalfan]

The line certainly needs to step things up in the running game, but blocking is not the only issue.

They are running Hill out of more single-back sets. He is better with a FB in front of him, as he's a power runner. Also, the play calling has Hill making cuts in the backfield (not just because of poor blocking), which he is not suited to do as well as he is to run North/South.

Also, sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the other teams' front 7. Both the Steelers and the Jets have top 10 run defenses. Having to face them in back-to-back weeks to start the season is not ideal for any team that wishes to establish the run.

that makes since. I guess now that Hue is gone Zampese wants to prove he's some kind of creative genius and he's going to f*** up a bit.

 

[cincygrad]

The line certainly needs to step things up in the running game, but blocking is not the only issue.

They are running Hill out of more single-back sets. He is better with a FB in front of him, as he's a power runner. Also, the play calling has Hill making cuts in the backfield (not just because of poor blocking), which he is not suited to do as well as he is to run North/South.

Also, sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the other teams' front 7. Both the Steelers and the Jets have top 10 run defenses. Having to face them in back-to-back weeks to start the season is not ideal for any team that wishes to establish the run.

This goes back to last year though..... They weren't much better with Hue calling the shots and he was pretty vocal about 'establishing the run.' I agree that Hill is at his best with Hewitt leading him and I can't really figure out why we haven't seen more of Hewitt. I think we miss Andre Smith and I haven't seen the PFF grades, but I'm guess Zeitler isn't having his best year.

 

[alf8478]

I cant wait to see Ced vs. Miller next week

 

[cincygrad]

I cant wait to see Ced vs. Miller next week

I'd be more comfortable with Winston being in there.... He's not great, but it's not his first rodeo.

 

[cincygrad]

Remember when Cedric gave up 7 sacks, hurt his knee and was still a first rounder?

I've heard more comments about how athletic and awesome this guy is going to be, but can he really play football?

 

[Cincyfan78]

This goes back to last year though..... They weren't much better with Hue calling the shots and he was pretty vocal about 'establishing the run.' I agree that Hill is at his best with Hewitt leading him and I can't really figure out why we haven't seen more of Hewitt. I think we miss Andre Smith and I haven't seen the PFF grades, but I'm guess Zeitler isn't having his best year.

To be honest, I think Hue may have gotten too far inside Hill's head after his rookie season. Hue was on Hill to break more tackles, and get more yards, and read the run better. Now Hill over-analyzes every run and is afraid to just be his rookie version where he just hits the hole and goes. I wonder if some of that doesn't come from Hue?

 

[DanBengalfan]

To be honest, I think Hue may have gotten too far inside Hill's head after his rookie season. Hue was on Hill to break more tackles, and get more yards, and read the run better. Now Hill over-analyzes every run and is afraid to just be his rookie version where he just hits the hole and goes. I wonder if some of that doesn't come from Hue?

Hill is adequate. but if we really want to get the running game going we're going to have to upgrade at both RB and OL. I'm not sure we're going to do that though if we identify ourselves as a passing offense.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Hill is adequate. but if we really want to get the running game going we're going to have to upgrade at both RB and OL. I'm not sure we're going to do that though if we identify ourselves as a passing offense.

I think the OL will be ok. They were 6th in rushing last year, if I remember correctly. The only change has been at RT, and I think eventually OB will be fine. We'd all love to upgrade at C, but it's just not happening so we're stuck there.

But, I'm still going to hold, that Hue deserves some of the blame for Hill's change in style. He was all over him after his rookie year about making more guys miss, doing this, doing that. He just needs to get the ball and go. Period. He has to get back to that mentality.

 

[cincygrad]

I think the OL will be ok. They were 6th in rushing last year, if I remember correctly. The only change has been at RT, and I think eventually OB will be fine. We'd all love to upgrade at C, but it's just not happening so we're stuck there.

But, I'm still going to hold, that Hue deserves some of the blame for Hill's change in style. He was all over him after his rookie year about making more guys miss, doing this, doing that. He just needs to get the ball and go. Period. He has to get back to that mentality.

Two years ago they were 6th.... Last year they were 13th. The rushing stats will get better when we play crappy teams and we are protecting the lead. You know Dalton isn't allowed to throw if we're up by two or more scores..... Because, Marvin.

Hill's rookie year stats are also skewed by the fact that he broke several long runs that year. Maybe those were flukes..... It's possible that he's not all that good. What concerns me is that Gio hasn't been able to run behind that line this year, and he was steady last year.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Two years ago they were 6th.... Last year they were 13th. The rushing stats will get better when we play crappy teams and we are protecting the lead. You know Dalton isn't allowed to throw if we're up by two or more scores..... Because, Marvin.

Hill's rookie year stats are also skewed by the fact that he broke several long runs that year. Maybe those were flukes..... It's possible that he's not all that good. What concerns me is that Gio hasn't been able to run behind that line this year, and he was steady last year.

You are correct. Thanks for the correction on that.

Yeah, he did break some long runs, but if you look at them, the were power runs where he just hit the hole and boom...he was gone. Not saying it should happen all the time, but that burst through the hole was from his immediate decision to get the ball and just flat out run. Now he gets too horizontal in his approach. He needs to get back to being more vertical.

Though, I agree, if the OL doesn't start getting things in order, it's not going to matter much who is running, or how they are approaching the line. It won't gain much traction. If I'm a DC against this bengals OL, I just overload the left side knowing that the right side barely can handle 1-1 matchups and simple stunts.

 

[cincygrad]

You are correct. Thanks for the correction on that.

Yeah, he did break some long runs, but if you look at them, the were power runs where he just hit the hole and boom...he was gone. Not saying it should happen all the time, but that burst through the hole was from his immediate decision to get the ball and just flat out run. Now he gets too horizontal in his approach. He needs to get back to being more vertical.

Though, I agree, if the OL doesn't start getting things in order, it's not going to matter much who is running, or how they are approaching the line. It won't gain much traction. If I'm a DC against this bengals OL, I just overload the left side knowing that the right side barely can handle 1-1 matchups and simple stunts.

Or, just do what the Steelers did..... Drop your safeties deep, play zone coverage and defend the run with your front 7. They were happy to give up yards in the middle of the field. They refused to let AJ beat them deep and they stopped us when they needed it.

 

[futballiscool]

Anyone else expectating a win vs the Broncos?

It's early in the week but right now I'm thinking somewhere in the ballpark of Bengals 20 Broncos 10

 

[cincygrad]

Looks like the Broncos are a little beat up and they're on the road for the first time this year. I'd give the edge to the Bengals.

That said, Kubiak has always given us trouble. Wouldn't be shocked to see a piss-poor performance this week and outrage in the stands.