It was bizarro NFL on display this past week. Just look at the headlines:
-Bengals win!
-B-More blows out Pitt (after 6 straight games decided by 4 points or less)
-Bears trounce the Falcons (Bears that good or Falcons not capable of playing outside on grass?)
-Houston beat Indy like a drum (they really must miss Manning on D and special teams)
-Buffalo beat the stew out of KC, in KC? (This would not have happened when Thurman, Bruce and Jim donned the blue and red).
-Detroit starts the season with a road win (against a young, hungry, decent team in TB)
-Cam Can (throws for over 400 yds. The upside on this kid is...WOW)
-Brady throws for over 500 yards to 36 different receivers-except Chad (against a 2010 top D who returned all but one starter and upgraded)
Quick Note: Brady looks peeved to say the least, this is the Brady no D wants to face. NY Jets and rest of the NFL, you have been warned!
-Brady and Henne combined for over 900 passing yards in an aerial display rarely seen in the NFL.
-Hue Jackson gets win in 1st game as NFL head coach (with Oakland and in Denver no less, congrats Hue. For those who forgot in a classic Mike Brown blunder Hue was former WR coach in Cincy during glory days of Bengal offensive power, coaching up TJ and Chad. Also Hue is reported to have brawled with Chad at the half of the 2005 playoff game vs. Pitt. Hue was takin crap from nobody including 85! A few years ago instead of firing Brat after the Bengals offense began declining and promoting Hue to the spot, the Bengals lost him to the Raiders. Hue is a clear leader and I wish him nothing but the best in his head coaching career.)
Bengals Analysis:
The Browns are clearly not there yet. This was supposed to be a coming out party for the young hungry Browns, the return of Browns Pride and a Dog Pound with Teeth...instead, the spirit of the Bengals took possession of the Browns.
Having said that, the Bengals must not have read my blog on how to attain a loss:
They limited the QB tosses to under 30, when I clearly stated they needed to throw around 40 times to be ineffective. With the limited tosses between Dalton and Gradkowski, they were very efficient and both played within themselves which limited the mistakes.
As an aside, that Gresham is going to be a real distraction as the Bengals try to get back on track for the #1 draft pick...watch out for that young kid.
They pounded Ced 25 times for a buck twenty-one (121 yds). This performance took a lot of pressure off the QBs. But a reason to hope is that I doubt Ced can maintain carrying the rock 25 times per (game) the entire season. A bonus key is that if the Bengals can play from behind, the pressure on Dalton increases and chances for the loss increase.
The Bengals D came to play as well and held everybody in check.
The special teams contributed to the win by keeping Cribbs in check...one busted TD could have swung the momentum (for a loss) back to the Bengals...
Lastly, how is a young team on the road supposed to lose without a single turnover?!?!
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It was the Browns who must have gotten hold to my blog cause they capitalized on some of the things I thought the Bengals could take advantage of in a losing effort.
Well, hopes of the IMPERFECT season have quickly vanished, but believe me, the Bengals are still in the thick of the hunt for the 1st round pick, even though they have fallen a game back. Next week should be an easy loss for the Bengals as they head out west to take on an extremely peeved Broncos squad who dropped their home opener to their hated rival.
Perhaps next week, the NFL universe will be restored to order...tune in Friday for the Bengals Keys to Defeat!
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