Week 9 – Bills
Was that the most boring game in years? The Steelers scheme was so vanilla they could have put Graeter’s out of business, and yet the Bengals were never a serious threat. The Bengals did not force the Steelers to use any second options, whether it meant changing up their running game, or even forcing Roethlisberger to look for a second receiver. Big Ben completed 19 passes, and on at least 16 of them he only looked at one receiver. Meanwhile, the Bengals became panicked once the Steelers took the lead and never looked like they truly thought they could win. One series summed up the whole game, and that was right before half time. The Bengals had a 10 play 50 yard drive to the Steelers 2 yard line where they faced 4th and 1. Any normal professional team would have been ready for this situation, instead the flustered Bengals called time out with 2:20 left. Let’s see, you are on the opponents 2 yard line, will you need 2:20 to finish the drive? No. Whether you kick the field goal, go for it, call time out, pay for another fly over, or rush to beat the beer line, you do not need 2:20. So Marvin could have calmly let the clock run as far as he could and made his decision. After the Bengals called the frantic time out, they decided to trot out the field goal unit to a smattering of boos from the crowd. Then, following another long kickoff return to the Steelers 33, the Steelers marched down and scored a TD with 4 seconds left in the half. And to top that off, the Steelers first play of the drive was a draw to Willie Parker, usually a sign that you are not going to run the 2 minute drill looking for a score. However, the draw went for 32 yards to the Bengals 35. At that point the Steelers had to go for the score and had no trouble doing it. The Steelers were content to stick with the mere basics, and that was enough for an easy win.

Keys to the Game.
The Bills are a bad team, they have 3 wins and 2 of them have come against the hapless Jets. They have the 31st ranked offense in the NFL and the 30th ranked defense. Their defense is just barely better than the Bengals 31st stanked defense. With that being said, the Bengals were 2 point favorites but the line has dropped to 1 due to betting on the Bills. I have to agree with the betters that the Bengals have not proven themselves to be a consistent or dependable team so far this season, and Buffalo is still one of the toughest road games in the NFL. Perhaps the Bengals could get back on track with a win, but they have officially entered the no man’s land where fans are not sure if we want them to win. There are 6 “should win” games in the remaining 9, so the Bengals could put themselves in position for the playoffs. But chances are the Bengals are not going to fight their way into the playoffs, so winning now only disguises their weaknesses and worsens their draft picks. Every year there are teams that finish on a winning streak that do not make the playoffs, and the team thinks they are primed for the next season(Rams 2006, Dolphins 2005, Bengals all 90s). They forget why they lost 8 or 9 games and that they need major changes in order to improve. Instead they think the streak will continue into the next season and the same problems that doomed previous seasons arise again. Win or lose, this Bengals team needs major changes in order to become a top tier team in the NFL. The only real bonus to this game is that it is the last game without Chris Henry, so some real entertainment should return next week.

When the Bills have the ball: The Bengals defense needs to be completely blown up from top to bottom. The coaching is awful and there are no more excuses to be made. First it was the LB injuries, then the run fits, then the Dline broke down, and against the Steelers it was the DBs turn to blow the game. A poorly coached team has different breakdowns each weak, while a team with injuries or bad players will continue to have breakdowns in the same area. The Dline and LBs played a fairly decent game this week against the Steelers, it was the DBs that allowed the back breaking plays this time. The Roethlisberger heave up for grabs that turned into a 40 yard completion, Hines Ward given a 10 yard cushion, Willie Parker getting to the outside on numerous big runs, and Heath Miller’s 23 yard run after a quick hitter all fall on the DBs. Again, Dexter Jackson made sure everyone knew he wasn’t happy with the people around him. It would be nice if he acted that way when he gets beat by a TE, or when he misses a tackle on a RB bounced out to him. Other than a handful of players: Geathers, Landon Johnson, Peko, the rookies, maybe Ahmad Brooks and Jonathan Joseph, everyone else needs to go, coaches included. When a simple junior high style offense makes you look that bad, everyone’s job should be on the line. The most exciting part about the Bengals defense is watching the different ways they can breakdown each week. I think this week it will be the line’s turn again.

When the Bengals have the ball: While the Bengals offense is not playing at their top level, they are not the reason the Bengals are losing. The offense scored on 3 of 6 drives on Sunday, with one of the failed drives being Kenny Watson’s questionable fumble in the redzone. Scoring on 50% of your drives will usually win games, unless your defense let’s the other team control the clock and score on 4 of 6 drives(Not including the Steelers 7th drive kneeling out the clock). Getting six possessions is very low for an NFL game, but happens when teams successfully run the football and the clock. Against the Jets, the Bengals scored on 5 of 9 possessions which gave them 31 offensive points. Going from playing the #1 defense in the NFL to the 30th defense of the Bills, the Bengals should do fine if they keep their current scoring ratio.
The bad news is it looks like Chad Johnson could become a problem. Since his arrival in Cincinnati, Chad has always been the same player; exceptional athlete able to beat defenders, but not sharp enough to be dependable when the Bengals need him. When things are going well, Chad is free to use his athleticism, everyone loves him and he is the star. But when times are tough, Chad disappears and the team depends on TJ/Chris Henry/Peter Warrick/etc. That has been the case for multiple seasons and it has worked for the Bengals offense. What has changed this season are the rumors about Chad being traded and his actions on the field. Chances are the trade rumors did not come from the Bengals, but from Chad’s agent Drew Rosenhaus who has not been happy with Chad’s contract for years. Chad has received some bad press lately, and its looking more and more like Rosenhaus is going to angle for a way to get Chad off the Bengals. In Sunday’s game, Chad looked uninterested in the game on multiple occasions. On some run plays, Chad was not even looking at the play or lined up in any way resembling a football player. He seemed distracted, dropped a key 3rd down pass, and it looked like he dropped the 4th down pass that was reviewed by the Steelers(The refs did not seem notice clear evidence to overturn multiple challenges on Sunday). Let’s hope this is just a bad game resulting from the pressure of being in a bad run, but if Rosenhaus has his way, the bad times will continue until Chad can be shipped out and negotiate a new contract. Rosenhaus excels at using team press to build a case and get his players new contracts, whether it be positive extensions, or negative cuts/trades. The Bengals need wins and Chad needs to score a few times for order to be restored before the team killing agent has his way. NEXT QUESTION!!

What you do want to see: Chad score and do a TD dance that involves an OJ Simpson or a Buffalo Bill theme.