This Loss Is by No Means "in the Bag"

Wrong side of playoff history

But first, I just have a quick Reds thought...what is it about Cincy pro sports that makes bright sports execs, well, dull to be honest. (Reds fans, please correct me if I'm wrong on this). In 2010, the Reds caught the NL by surprise with their young scrappy bunch of pups and won the division in an obviously down year for the NL Central. But then, they go to the playoffs vs the Phils and get beat like they stole somethin, were stripped of their manhood, then scurried away like scared little pups with their tail between their legs. It made me uncomfortable, like watching a grown man punch a baby or some other atrocity like that. I mean, who gets no-hit in the playoffs!! However, even after the Costco-sized can of whoop arse the Phils opened on them, people still felt good about this young team (including myself). I for one asked myself, Mr. Jocketty, what are you going to do to improve this team so if they make it back to the playoffs they won't look like little boys against grown, cursing, beer-swilling men again? The answer: they pretty much stood pat, and had a mediocre non-playoff 2011 season...growing pains or has Jocketty been Bengalized?
____________________________________

Sidenote: Any of my 80's bretheren remember Alcoa's "You make the call" during games? Good times.

____________________________________

Going into this week, the Bengals will have to overcome one of the most dangerous obstacles to defeat they will face this season, and that is, suffering victory at the hands of a team who has a letdown. You see, the Bills have come off of some draining victories the past couple weeks. I would not be surprised if it was an NFL record to come back from second half deficits of 18 or more 2 weeks in a row. If they get down again, they may not have anything left to come back with. Not only that, but this young Bengals team team does not have hopelessness yet. As ugly of a game that was against the Gold diggers last Sunday, the effort for this team is still there. That is why these next few weeks are crucial. As deep as the bottom of the NFL pack is this year, going 2-2 would be the equivalent of mailing it in on the #1 draft pick. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, the Benglas must continue to drop games 1 week at a time. And now, on to the Keys!

On Offense:

Big Red

1. Big Red has to throw over 35 times. He's going to need to be taken advantage of by a Buffalo secondary who picked Tom Brady off 4 times last week. Also letting Big Red chuck the ball all over the field favors the Bengals because they will be able to fall behind while giving up control of the ball and clock.

2. The Bengals will have to rush the offense and use as little time off the clock on offense as possible so that they maximize Fitz's chances on offense. (Last week running only 53 offensive snaps was admirable).

3. Minimize Ced's carries, esp. if the Bengals are close or up late in the game. This will also keep the Bengals D on the field longer and allow more chances for the secondary to give up some big plays.


On Defense:

"Coma-toast" is key!

1. Secondary must play zone coverage. I normally call for the Bengals secondary to play man to be disadvantaged by mismatches, however that Bengals front 4 has been doing some uncharacteristic damage and pressuring QBs. The zone allows the secondary to surrender some quick-hitters and intermediate passes and eventually give up a big play or 2 on double moves built off the quick stuff.

2. The 4 man front has got to take the pressure off of Fitz. The D line has to allow Fitz to move freely about the pocket unharassed. As I stated in Defensive key 1, this front 4 for the Bengals has been collapsing the pocket so far, and I am not sure they will be able to fail in that regard against the Bills but they can not put forth the effort.

As a Team:

1. The Bengals can not overestimate the Bills ability to march into the Jungle and grab an W. They must stay unfocused to come out on the bottom of this one.

2. On both sides of the ball, the Stripes must relinquish the line of scrimmage. This will be tough because the O line is not bad and the D line has been bringing some heat.

3. The Bengals have to lose the turnover battle. They have to give up the ball while not taking it away.


The Bengals "vaunted" Defense will get its first major test this Sunday, so we will see if they really got the stuff, or if they are pretenders who were playing offensively inept teams the first 3 weeks. Ultimately this could turn out to be an major sleeper win for the Bengals, which would turn the season upside down and knock them 2 games back in the #1 draft pick race. On the flip side, a poor performance from the Bengals could help them crack the bottom 5 and thwart the young team's confidence sending them spiraling into an ever deepening abyss of Bengalization. With the Bengals schedule being "easy," they have to lose the games they are supposed to lose. So against an improving team like Buffalo, they have to disregard their business and hand the Bills a W.
_______________________________

Bengals sidenote: Didn't we have Fitz on our team a few years ago? Oh well, can't blame Mike Brown for this one, who knew (except Buffalo)? I am happy for Fitz because he would have never been the starter in Cincy. He went out and got his shot with a team willing to give it to him. I think he did some statistical analysis on the probability of becoming Bengalized if he stayed.


_______________________________

Check back in next Tuesday, when we will discuss the game and other tidbits from the rest of the NFL. Most importantly, we will see if the Bengals perform poorly enough to crack my Powerless Rankings. Enjoy the weekend and all the action and as usual, thanks for reading the...

"God bless us, everyone."