Game Thread: Wild Card: Chargers v. Bengals

[cincygrad]

That's fair. He deserves his share of criticism

But it seemed to me that he was playing well in the first half, and then somehow (not sure if it was scheme or just better DL play) SD got a pass rush in his face on every play. not a couple plays, it was literally everytime he dropped back to pass..

Rodgers has great footwork to avoid that type of rush. Peyton and Brady make such quick reads that maybe they beat the pressure.

But I honestly think championship QBs like Flacco or Eli would have struggled too.

I look forward to watching a replay of the game when I'll have less of an emotional bias though

One criticism I've heard of Dalton is that he decides where to go before the ball is snapped. That seemed to be very true of the INT intended for Eifert.

I absolutely believe Flacco and Eli would have struggled today, but I also think they are hard to evaluate. Eli has had all sorts of failures in playoff games, but he also has two trophies. Flacco seems to play better in the playoffs even though he looks very flawed in most games.

 

[bengaldoug]

Dude chill out. Of course he's going to get more criticism. That's part of being a quarterback. Peyton Manning has a stigma about not being able to win in the playoffs, but if you look at his game performances, many of the games 'he lost,' he put up huge numbers and had great games. That goes along with the territory, especially when you are the one constantly turning the ball over (7 in his last 2 games).

It's interesting to me why many posters are scared to blame Dalton's shitty play. The facts are that we have a quarterback that has 6 INTs, a lost fumble, and only 1 TD in 3 postseason games. He continuously falls flat on his face in big games, yet you'd rather blame the OL, who has been extremely good this year, the OC, who is regarded by much of the media and other organizations to be a good coordinator and is being considered for HC jobs, or AJ Green, which is just laughable.

I'm perfectly calm. And I give Dalton much of the blame. But you give him all of it, and you have been relentless in criticizing him including blaming him for things that just aren't true, like the argument you pulled out of your ass saying the deep pass was not a part of the offense. I gave you PFF stats refuting your baseless claim which you ignored. If you are going to trash him, fine, just make sure you get your facts straight. There's plenty of blame to share. And AJ Green's play is often laughable. According to PFF numbers he's not even the best receiver on the team.

 

[futballiscool]

One criticism I've heard of Dalton is that he decides where to go before the ball is snapped. That seemed to be very true of the INT intended for Eifert.

I absolutely believe Flacco and Eli would have struggled today, but I also think they are hard to evaluate. Eli has had all sorts of failures in playoff games, but he also has two trophies. Flacco seems to play better in the playoffs even though he looks very flawed in most games.

That play was terrible.

Dalton's not an athletic playmaker. He has a limited arm. He makes some bad decisions. He's a guy who can play well under favorable conditions. But those were all things people knew about him before the game and the Bengals were still an 8 point favorite. I place a ton of blame on the OL and the run defense.

To me, this is a classic team loss. They didn't come to play. I put this one on the coach. I might be a hypocrite for defending Dalton and blaming Lewis, but that's how I saw the game

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I wasn't shocked, but surprised

One criticism I've heard of Dalton is that he decides where to go before the ball is snapped. That seemed to be very true of the INT intended for Eifert.

I absolutely believe Flacco and Eli would have struggled today, but I also think they are hard to evaluate. Eli has had all sorts of failures in playoff games, but he also has two trophies. Flacco seems to play better in the playoffs even though he looks very flawed in most games.

at the final score. IMO...the Chargers out coached the Bengals in that game...all the running in the 1st half, then flipping the script in the 2nd...same thing on DEF...rushed mostly 4 then flip it with heavy blitzing from many different angles in the 2nd...CIN OL could never figure out where the blitz was coming from and get it picked up.

Gruden...I'm not sold on him and from a foe perspective have always looked at him as the weak link...hard to complain about him when the OFC puts up huge numbers in stats but has 4 turnovers, but blanked in the 2nd half is worthy of a complaint.

From the 2nd possession on in the 3Q he was in shotgun on nearly every play...imo took playaction out of play for the DEF and they were able to tee off on Dalton...keep in mind 3Q now.

Dalton..., not all on him, but the picks were bad picks...meaning easy for the DEF...3 of the 4 turnovers were at his feet...I don't think you can bail on him over this game, but this one is going to stick with him for a while...not sure if he'll shake it...definitely need a plan B.

Tough way to end it.

 

[bengaldoug]

at the final score. IMO...the Chargers out coached the Bengals in that game...all the running in the 1st half, then flipping the script in the 2nd...same thing on DEF...rushed mostly 4 then flip it with heavy blitzing from many different angles in the 2nd...CIN OL could never figure out where the blitz was coming from and get it picked up.

Gruden...I'm not sold on him and from a foe perspective have always looked at him as the weak link...hard to complain about him when the OFC puts up huge numbers in stats but has 4 turnovers, but blanked in the 2nd half is worthy of a complaint.

From the 2nd possession on in the 3Q he was in shotgun on nearly every play...imo took playaction out of play for the DEF and they were able to tee off on Dalton...keep in mind 3Q now.

Dalton..., not all on him, but the picks were bad picks...meaning easy for the DEF...3 of the 4 turnovers were at his feet...I don't think you can bail on him over this game, but this one is going to stick with him for a while...not sure if he'll shake it...definitely need a plan B.

Tough way to end it.

A reasonable assessment. And they aren't going to bail on him. If anything this makes signing him to a 5 to 7 years extension tempting for Mike Brown, because he'll be able to sign him on the cheap.

 

[alf8478]

Ok, I had a little time to think about it. Here's my problem(s):
1-It wasn't all Dalton's fault, but a lot of it was. And the stuff that was his fault was the SAME stuff that's been his fault for the past 3 years. There's no progression or development. I know everyone laughed at my idea of Sanchez, but would he have put up that performance yesterday?
2-The offense as a whole has two many players that make you hold your breath on every play.
a-when Dalton drops back to pass, I literally have no idea what's going to happen. He could get picked off on a screen pass, run for a yard, throw a beautiful bomb down the sideline or throw it to where there's no receiver and two defenders.
b-Tate (I know he's special teams, but I'm including him on offense for this rant), we never know when he'll run backwards (always) or fumble. I know he had a decent season, but he still makes me gasp.
c-Gresham is a false start, hold, or fumble waiting to happen.
d-Sanu has troubled with ball security
e-Andre is prone to a false start or hold at a crucial time
f-Cook -enough said.

This team lacks a confidence and swagger on offense. On Defense we have Burfict, Nelson, even PacMan and Dunlap play with an edge. On offense there's nothing.Chad and Tj were clowns most of the time, but they had that "give me the ball and i'll make a play" kind of attitude.
Look at the teams that won this weekend, they all had either a coach or an offensive leader with swagger, that "you cant beat me" kind of attitude. That's what this team lacks on the coaching front and/or at QB.

 

[DanBengalfan]

nice to see some folks aren't hung over this morning.

everyone still here? any suicides?

 

[alf8478]

nice to see some folks aren't hung over this morning.

everyone still here? any suicides?

I was close. But i didnt have enough pills left

 

[bengaldoug]

Ok, I had a little time to think about it. Here's my problem(s):
1-It wasn't all Dalton's fault, but a lot of it was. And the stuff that was his fault was the SAME stuff that's been his fault for the past 3 years. There's no progression or development. I know everyone laughed at my idea of Sanchez, but would he have put up that performance yesterday?
2-The offense as a whole has two many players that make you hold your breath on every play.
a-when Dalton drops back to pass, I literally have no idea what's going to happen. He could get picked off on a screen pass, run for a yard, throw a beautiful bomb down the sideline or throw it to where there's no receiver and two defenders.
b-Tate (I know he's special teams, but I'm including him on offense for this rant), we never know when he'll run backwards (always) or fumble. I know he had a decent season, but he still makes me gasp.
c-Gresham is a false start, hold, or fumble waiting to happen.
d-Sanu has troubled with ball security
e-Andre is prone to a false start or hold at a crucial time
f-Cook -enough said.

This team lacks a confidence and swagger on offense. On Defense we have Burfict, Nelson, even PacMan and Dunlap play with an edge. On offense there's nothing.Chad and Tj were clowns most of the time, but they had that "give me the ball and i'll make a play" kind of attitude.
Look at the teams that won this weekend, they all had either a coach or an offensive leader with swagger, that "you cant beat me" kind of attitude. That's what this team lacks on the coaching front and/or at QB.

Excellent post....

 

[bengaldoug]

nice to see some folks aren't hung over this morning.

everyone still here? any suicides?

I was trying to stab myself, but the knife was intercepted......

 

[alf8478]

Excellent post....

Thank you sir

 

[kramer1]

Hung over? Me?

 

[dare2be]

One criticism I've heard of Dalton is that he decides where to go before the ball is snapped. That seemed to be very true of the INT intended for Eifert.

I've noticed that too...seems he is unwilling or unable to go thru progressions and/or look for the checkdown receiver.